Palestinian families remained trapped in their homes in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra for an 11th day on Thursday, in a case that has drawn condemnation from US Amb***ador to Israel Mike Huckabee and become a symbol of growing settler violence in the territory.
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As of Thursday, 13 people remained unable to leave their homes in the village, south of Nablus, because of settlers gathered outside.
Water and electricity were cut off for a time and internet access has not worked since the start of the week. Although the Israeli army has been deployed in the area, it has not physically removed the settlers, who remain outside the homes.
Huckabee has spoken out twice in the past week about the case. He said taking property belonging to Palestinian Americans was “a violation of God’s law”.
Rising violence
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, says settler violence has increased in Qusra since November 2025. Human Rights Watch says attacks by settlers have risen across the West Bank since 2022, alongside what it described as unprecedented settlement expansion.
The rights group reported in July that escalating settler attacks had led to 107 Palestinian communities being fully or partially displaced since January 2023. It said intimidation is often used to pressure Palestinians into leaving their homes.
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In Qusra, about a dozen Palestinian households were told by the Israeli army to leave their properties during an operation aimed at removing Israeli settlers. The Israeli army has condemned illegal property takeovers in the West Bank.
Qusra Mayor Abdul Wazim Wadi said Israeli forces later used some of the vacated Palestinian homes as barracks.
Residents and local officials say settlers in the area are trying to make conditions so difficult that Palestinians eventually leave their homes. They say the land can then be used to expand nearby settlements.
Life under seige
A tent overlooking the homes has been set up for journalists covering the situation. RFI reporter Frédérique Misslin visited the area on Tuesday.
From the hills above Qusra, Palestinian families can be seen confined to their homes. Israeli soldiers are stationed outside, while settlers’ quad bikes occasionally travel along dirt tracks through olive groves and dry vegetation. Access to the roads is forbidden and the area has been declared a closed military zone.
Abdel-Karim H***an, a farmer whose wife and daughters are among those trapped, said he speaks to his family 10 times a day.
“It’s difficult to live in a place where you’re not allowed to open the windows, breathe or go outside. It’s a prison,” H***an told RFI.
Local authorities, with the help of volunteers, are trying to organise aid for the families trapped inside. They deliver water and food to those under siege but cannot see them. The packages are left at the entrances to the homes and inspected by the Israeli army before being p***ed on.
“Ten days under siege is far too long for entire families, including women and children,” mayor Wadi said.
Calls for help
Some Palestinians living abroad have returned to defend their property. One of them is Loai Abu Ridi, a Palestinian-American from Ohio who returned to Qusra after more than 20 years in the United States.
He arrived earlier this week under Israeli military block. Soon after, he raised an American flag on his roof and appealed for help.
“I fear for my life and I am demanding to get protected in my house as an American citizen. I put the flag, it’s my message to all Americans in the United States to see what’s going on here in the West Bank, how the settlers put us under siege trying to take my own house in the West Bank,” Ridi said.
Ridi grew up in Qusra and was involved in a confrontation with a settler on Tuesday 18 August. The exchange was filmed by Reuters.
“You’re a terrorist settler, you know that?” Ridi said.
The settler replied in Hebrew: “You came to make a mess?”
A military vehicle p***ed several times during the confrontation but no arrests were made. Soldiers instead ordered Ridi to return to his house.
International concern
Michel Rentenaar, the Netherlands’ representative to the Palestinian Territories, is the only diplomat known to have visited Qusra so far.
During a visit on Tuesday, he said the siege was illegal under international law and that the authorities had a responsibility to stop the violence.
“In any society even in an occupation, the occupation authorities have the responsibility to stop this kind of violence,” Rentenaar said.
Last week, Huckabee described the siege of Ridi’s family as “a horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and har*** this family … no excuse for such thuggish behaviour”.
The comment drew attention because Huckabee has long been known for supporting Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Despite his comments on X, no concrete action has been taken by US authorities to protect Ridi.
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Although the tents erected outside the Palestinian homes have now been removed, the settlers remain. Wadi said the Israeli army could remove them within 10 minutes if it chose to do so.
Questions have also been raised about the army’s role. Videos circulated at the start of the siege appeared to show soldiers sympathising with the settlers and, at times, praying alongside them.
The Israeli military later issued a statement saying: “The situation in Qusra is unacceptable.”
