Israel has sent soldiers to try to protect three homes in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra that have been surrounded by a small group of Israeli settlers for several days.
One of the three homes is owned by a Palestinian American, and the incident prompted an unusually critical reponse from the US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, typically considered an ally of Israel’s settler movement.
The case comes amid continued Israeli settlement building, which is considered illegal under international law, in parts of the occupied West Bank, and allegations from critics of the Israeli government that it sometimes turns a blind eye to, or does too little to prevent, settler violence against Palestinians.
What is happening and where?
Starting on Sunday, a group of settlers started gathering around three houses in the village of Qusra.
One of the buildings belongs to Palestinian-American homeowner Loui Ridi. Local officials said the settlers sometimes numbered several dozen. They supposedly threw strones, attempted to bring down a stone wall, and prevented occupants from leaving their homes as their supplies dwindled.
Ridi’s brother, Qusai Abu Rida — who had holed up in the house with his son — said on Thursday morning that they had been moved to another home by the Israeli military but still could not leave the area some 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the Palestinian city of Nablus. Loui Ridi resides in Ohio but owns the property.
Israel’s IDF military said its troops had dismantled “two illegal outposts” near the homes, and detained one Israeli. It wasn’t immediately clear if the individual was subject to arrest or investigation, or just detention.
The local mayor, Abdel Azim Wadi, said that Israeli forces evacuated seven homes to make space for them to take up positions in the village. He said that the settlers remained in other parts of the village, despite being removed from their outposts.
Locals said the village was on effective lockdown.
“No one is allowed to enter. Even food and water are prohibited from reaching those besieged,” the Associated Press cited Yasser Ahmad, a resident of a neighboring village, as saying as he watched the operation unfold from one hilltop over.
Qusra is in one of the most violent pockets of the northern West Bank, surrounded by settlements. Its mosque was damaged in attacks last month.
What did US Ambassador Huckabee say about the incident?
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, typically a supporter of the Israeli settler movement — but also critical of settler violence — spoke out in unusually sharp terms against an incident impacting a US citizen in the West Bank.
“The actions of those doing this to this family’s home is criminal,” he said. “Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting. No excuse for such thuggish behavior.”
However, Huckabee also repeatedly defended both US and Israeli authorities response to the incident, saying the US Embassy in Jerusalem had been “very involved,” and that “the IDF and Israel Police have gone at our request to remove the Israeli terrorists doing this.”
He later repeated this message, posting video footage seeming to show Israeli security vehicles driving into the area.
The UN Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory on Thursday called on the Israeli authorities to “immediately” act against the settlers .
“These criminal actions by the settlers, supported or acquiesced to by Israel, the occupying power, are making life unbearable for these Palestinian families, and are clearly aimed at forcing them to leave their homes and land,” it said in a statement.
EU foreign policy spokesperson Anitta Hipper called on Israel to take “concrete action to prevent settler violence.”
What’s the wider issue with West Bank settlement building and settler violence?
Palestinians and some in the Israeli opposition accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of turning a blind eye to attacks by settlers against Palestinians, as such cases have increased in recent years since the October 7 attacks and amid the war in Gaza.
Israeli government officials tend to describe the violence as the actions of a few fringe youth acting outside the law. The UN’s human rights office (OHCHR) said 18 Palestinians have died in the first seven months of this year in attacks involving settlers.
Most of the international community condemns Israeli settlement building in the West Bank as an impediment to a lasting peace and the so-called two-state solution.
More than 500,000 Israelis live — most with but also some without Israeli government authorization and support — in the West Bank, which is home to roughly 3 million Palestinians.
The Palestinians seek the West Bank, captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, as part of a future state. Many settlers and some members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government claim the area should belong to Israel, often citing a mixture historical, religious and security reasons.
Edited by: Louis Oelofse
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