Israeli settlers have been besieging two Palestinian families in their homes in the occupied West Bank village of bbc.co.uk, near Nablus, leaving supplies running dangerously low and drawing urgent calls for intervention from human rights groups. The families involved are the Abu Ridi and Hassan households, who reside in Area B—a part of the West Bank under Palestinian administrative control and Israeli security control.
Israeli Settlers Besiege Palestinian Families in West Bank Village of Qusra
The situation escalated after settlers established an outpost at the site, cutting off water, power, and food stocks for the trapped residents. According to Palestinian homeowners, the first Israeli soldiers to arrive at the scene after initial reports were filmed praying alongside the settlers. Qusay Abu Ridi posted on Facebook that the situation was critical, noting that the families were completely isolated on their own land and asking only for the right to live safely and with dignity.
Restrictions and Interference with Journalists and Medical Aid
During the standoff, journalists and humanitarian aid faced severe obstructions. On Monday, Israeli settlers blocked reporters from the left-leaning bbc.co.uk newspaper from reaching the properties. The journalists reported that Israeli soldiers at the scene refused to help when their car was blocked for two hours, citing a closed military order that was enforced against the press but not against the settlers.
Activist and journalist Andrey X traveled to Qusra on Monday to deliver food, but reported that settlers attacked his group and an ambulance in full view of Israeli soldiers. According to Andrey, the army detained his group, took their identification cards and keys, ordered them out of the village, and held them before eventually releasing them. Ameer Dawood, Director of Publishing and Documentation at the Colonisation & Wall Resistance Commission, described the events as an extremely dangerous act of settler terrorism and an attempted takeover of Palestinian property
.
Conditions remained dire until late Tuesday, when a Palestinian ambulance was finally permitted to reach the families to deliver food and evacuate a child for medical treatment.
Military Actions and Broader West Bank Context
On Wednesday, Israeli security forces reportedly withdrew from the settler outpost following clashes with a crowd of extremist settlers. The Israel Defense Forces stated that Border Police forces evacuated the tent and were working to clear the civilians staying there, employing tear gas and stun grenades during the operation. Security forces confiscated the canopy used by the settlers while leaving other equipment behind, though about a dozen settlers were said to remain at the site.
Prior to the security forces’ withdrawal, the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din made an urgent appeal to the head of the Israeli military’s Central Command, demanding protection for the besieged residents, the evacuation of the outpost, and accountability for the settlers. The ongoing events in Qusra coincide with heightened violence across the territory. A top UN official told the Security Council in New York that the West Bank is at breaking point
, noting that settler violence has reached unprecedented levels.
Keep reading
