Israeli settlers have intensified their siege of three Palestinian families residing within their homes in the occupied West Bank, escalating tensions and causing significant hardship. Security camera footage from the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, on Wednesday reveals Israeli soldiers surrounding one of the houses, a development that has sparked widespread concern among residents. The families, including Aisha Abu Rida, have reported being effectively encircled by settlers, blocking access to their homes and severely limiting their ability to receive essential services like water and electricity. Aisha Abu Rida, one of the residents under siege, stated, ‘We are surrounded by settlers, but we are steadfast, God willing. We will not leave our home, no matter what happens. Despite the water and electricity being cut off, we will remain steadfast,’ emphasizing their unwavering determination to remain within their homes. She added, ‘We are relying on a temporary solar power system and leftover well water from the winter, which is insufficient to sustain us.’ Loai Ridi, an American-Palestinian who owns a house in the village, echoed this sentiment, describing his brother Qusai Abu Rida and 18-year-old nephew, Ahmed, as among the trapped family members. He revealed that the family was relying on a temporary solar power system and leftover well water from the winter, which is insufficient to sustain them. ‘He [Qusai Abu Rida] does not want to leave the home. Because if he leaves the home, the settlers will take over immediately. It’s really very, very difficult. He just told me, ‘I only have supplies for two to three days left. And if no one is able to provide us with food, I am not sure what else I can do’.” Ridi asserted that Israeli forces have largely failed to intervene when his brother had called for help, claiming that soldiers knelt to pray alongside the settlers at the scene, footage which has since circulated on social media. ‘They basically did nothing,’ he said, highlighting the lack of a proactive response to his brother’s distress. Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli forces arrived on the scene, dismantling the settlers’ tent and engaging in a brief clash with approximately 50 to 60 settlers before withdrawing. Military officials stated that Israeli forces would deploy an additional infantry battalion to the area, with the chief of general staff ordering continued efforts to strengthen order and operational control and prevent further incidents. The Israeli military had previously reported of settlers entering and seizing Palestinian homes and land in the area, describing the activity as “illegal, reprehensible and unacceptable” and disruptive to residents’ daily lives. It further stated that disciplinary action would be taken against security personnel filmed at the site in preceding days. Ridi said his family was ‘living in fear’. ‘And we live in fear overseas. They are being harassed and attacked by the settlers … I cannot do anything about it.’ Qusra sits in Area B of the occupied West Bank, nominally under Palestinian civil administration. The village has faced a string of recent attacks, including the burning of a newly built mosque last month, and a similar two-week siege in July, forcing two Palestinian families off their land before settlers took over the property. Violence and land seizure in the occupied West Bank have intensified over the past months, with Jewish settlers emboldened by the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has overseen a rapid expansion of settlement construction in the territory. More than 500,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank in settlements that are considered illegal under international law, alongside roughly three million Palestinians. Israel has occupied the territory since 1967. According to the Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now, there are 146 settlements in the West Bank and a further 390 smaller outposts. Breaking the Silence, an Israeli rights group, said on X that while settlers commit “daily terror against Palestinian men, women, and children … neither this terror nor ethnic cleansing would be possible without the [Israeli] army’s support”. The United Nations has also warned that the situation in the occupied West Bank has reached a “breaking point”. Addressing the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov said Israeli forces and settlers have killed 76 Palestinians, including 18 children, in the occupied territory so far this year. About 3,800 Palestinians, nearly half of them children, have been displaced by settler violence, demolitions, and evictions, he said. The UN has documented more than 1,430 settler attacks resulting in casualties or property damage across roughly 260 Palestinian communities in 2026, he added, with many carried out in the presence of Israeli forces. According to Alakbarov, settler attacks, once concentrated mainly in Area C, where Israel holds full civil and security control, are increasingly spreading into Areas A and B. Israeli authorities have also advanced or approved roughly 12,360 settlement housing units across the West Bank this year, including 5,160 in occupied East Jerusalem, he said. “These are interconnected steps, not isolated developments,” Alakbarov said, warning that they were reshaping the occupied West Bank, weakening Palestinian governance and advancing “de facto annexation”.
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Source: Al Jazeera
