Israeli settlers have besieged Palestinian families in their homes in the West Bank village of Qusra since Sunday, cutting off water, electricity and food in what residents describe as an attempt to force them off their land. The Guardian first reported the siege, which has since drawn coverage from multiple outlets operating in the region.
The confrontation began when a group of settlers set up a makeshift tent and later a wooden structure outside the home of Youssef Hassan, trapping him with his wife and their two young daughters, aged two and four. According to the Times of Israel, Hassan said settlers erected the structure at the entrance to his home on Sunday and have since prevented anyone from entering or leaving.
A widening siege
By midweek, the standoff had spread. Al Jazeera reported that dozens of settlers were besieging three Palestinian families in Qusra, cutting off water, power and essential supplies. One resident, Aisha Abu Rida, told the outlet that despite the deprivation, her family was determined to remain.
“"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."”
The Nigerian outlet Tribune Online reported that seven members of the Abu Ridi family, including two young girls, were left isolated after settlers tore down a wall outside their home and used the rubble to block the road. One family member, Qusay Abu Ridi, wrote on Facebook that the family was asking only to be left in peace.
“"We are living in our own home, on our own land, and we are asking for nothing more than the right to live safely and with dignity."”
Attempts to bring in food and medical help have reportedly been blocked as well. The pan-Arab outlet The New Arab reported that an activist who travelled to Qusra to deliver food said settlers attacked his group and an ambulance in full view of Israeli soldiers. A local rights advocate, Ameer Dawood of the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, described the episode to the outlet as "an extremely dangerous act of settler terrorism and an attempted takeover of Palestinian property."
Army intervenes, then withdraws
Israel's military attempted to clear the settler outpost on Wednesday but abandoned the operation after word of the plan reportedly leaked, drawing dozens of settler activists to the area in support. The National reported that the military later said commanders had expressed "grave concern" over the actions of Israeli civilians against the Palestinian family and that disciplinary steps would be taken against soldiers documented failing to intervene. Troops were subsequently withdrawn, and by Wednesday afternoon the outpost remained in place, according to the Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat, which cited AFP reporting from the scene.
The Israel Defence Forces separately said an additional infantry battalion would be sent to the area to reinforce order, following an assessment led by the military's chief of staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir. Qusra's mayor, Abdel Azim Wadi, told the BBC that residents had witnessed a clear and sustained pattern of attacks targeting the village, which last month saw a newly built mosque burned down.
Part of a broader pattern
Qusra sits in what is designated Area B of the occupied West Bank, meaning the Palestinian Authority holds nominal civil authority while Israel retains overriding security control, a division dating to the 1990s Oslo Accords. In the neighbouring village of Jalud, a similar siege lasting more than two weeks in July ended with two Palestinian families leaving their land, which settlers have continued to occupy, Al Jazeera reported.
The United Nations has tracked a sharp rise in such incidents this year. Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN's deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said the organisation had documented more than 1,430 settler attacks resulting in casualties or property damage across roughly 260 Palestinian communities in 2026, many carried out in the presence of Israeli forces. He also noted that Israeli authorities have advanced or approved roughly 12,360 settlement housing units across the West Bank this year, including 5,160 in occupied East Jerusalem.
Tribune Online reported that the UN estimates about 3,800 Palestinians have been displaced in 2026 alone due to settler violence, demolitions and evictions, part of more than 6,390 displaced since January 2023. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, has rejected suggestions that settlements are an obstacle to peace, a position that remains sharply disputed by Palestinian officials and much of the international community, including the European Union, which considers settlements in the occupied West Bank illegal under international law.
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