The Israeli military has announced it will deploy additional troops to the occupied West Bank after failing to remove Israeli settlers who have trapped two Palestinian families in their homes since Sunday.
The Abu Ridi and Hassan families, residing on the outskirts of Qusra village south of Nablus, appealed for assistance after their water and power supplies were cut off and their food stocks dwindled.
This incident highlights the ongoing issue of settler impunity and the challenges faced by Israeli forces in addressing rising settler violence.
Videos circulating from Qusra overnight show numerous Israeli security vehicles, including a bulldozer. Later footage, filmed in daylight, depicts a long line of Israeli security forces on the road leading to the Palestinian village, which has been declared a closed military zone.
Local media reports indicate that a nearby Israeli settler outpost was demolished.
Qusay Abu Ridi, who has been trapped in his home by settlers since Sunday with utilities cut, informed the BBC that the house was attacked again overnight and that a few settlers remain in the vicinity, evading the army.
His brother, the property owner, is a Palestinian-American businessman who had lodged a complaint with the US embassy.
US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, stated that his embassy had requested Israel to remove the settlers, referring to them as "Israeli terrorists."
"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," he posted on X.
The situation in Qusra began on Sunday when settlers blocked the road to the Palestinian families' homes and severed their power and water supplies. The initial Israeli soldiers who arrived at the scene were seen praying with the settlers, an act for which the Israeli military later stated disciplinary action would be taken.
On Wednesday, an attempt by Israeli security forces to dislodge the settlers failed after confrontations with a larger group.
Palestinian security camera footage shared with the BBC showed clashes between Israeli soldiers and border police and a large crowd of settlers. Security forces deployed tear gas and stun grenades.
In other footage, Israeli forces appear to have confiscated the canopy under which the settlers were sheltering, while leaving their other equipment.
The specific demands of the settlers in Qusra are unclear. Historically, settlers have been known to force Palestinians from their homes and seize their properties.
The stated objective of the settlers is to displace the Palestinian residents from the area.
Settlements are considered illegal under international law, yet the Israeli government has actively promoted their rapid expansion.
The Palestinian village mayor, Abdel Azim Wadi, told the BBC that local residents have observed "a clear and sustained pattern of targeting Qusra." Last month, a newly constructed mosque was set ablaze, with Hebrew graffiti sprayed nearby.
That settler attack was one of several that followed an incident in the Palestinian village of Tal. After Israeli settlers attacked Tal, it led to an escalation in which six people were killed – four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers, one of whom served as a security coordinator for a nearby Israeli settlement.
In July, settlers also surrounded a Palestinian home in the village of Jalud, near Qusra, for over two weeks. Subsequently, the owners fled, and settlers occupied the property, where they remain to this day.
According to UN figures, 76 Palestinians, including 18 children, have been killed in the West Bank this year by Israeli forces or settlers. Concurrently, three Israelis, including one civilian, were killed in confrontations with Palestinians and in an alleged ramming attack by a Palestinian in the West Bank.
Since January 2023, 127 Palestinian communities in the West Bank have experienced full or partial displacement, with 47 communities entirely displaced, affecting over 6,390 Palestinians, the UN reports.
It has registered that in 2026, approximately 3,800 Palestinians, nearly half of them children, have been displaced due to settler violence, demolitions, and evictions.
Speaking at a UN meeting, Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, dismissed the notion that settlements are an obstacle to peace. He asserted that they would persist and continue to grow, citing Israel's biblical, historical, and legal rights to the land.
He stated that the Security Council "must understand a simple truth: we are not going anywhere."
