Image source, ReutersAccess to the homes has been blocked by settlers since Sunday
ByMaia Davies
Activists have tried to delivered supplies to Palestinians whose homes in the occupied West Bank have been besieged for days by Israeli settlers.
The group left water and food near one of the houses in Qusra where two Palestinian families have been trapped since Sunday, with their power and water supplies cut off.
Two of the residents said Israeli forces had prevented the activists from delivering the aid directly to them, and the supplies had to be left outside. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied this.
Also on Friday, a number of settlers returned to set up a tent near the site – a day after an operation to disperse them from the area. It was later removed by Israeli forces.
The IDF said Qusra was a “closed military zone” and so Israeli civilians – who were among the activists – could not enter the area.
“But they weren’t prevented from transferring aid to the Palestinian homes in Qusra.”
It said in a further statement that Israeli civilians had erected a tent in the Qusra area earlier on Friday, “and IDF soldiers operated to remove it while protecting the local residents”.
About a dozen Palestinian households were told to leave their properties during the operation to disperse settlers on Thursday, including members of the Abu Ridi and Hassan families living in two of their three besieged homes.
Qusra Mayor Abdul Azim Wadi told the BBC that Israeli forces were using some of the vacated Palestinian houses as barracks.
The Israeli military said the aim was “to protect the residents” and soldiers had been “instructed that the Qusra residents will remain in their homes”.
A spokesperson had previously described the settlers’ actions as “deplorable” and “unacceptable”, adding that the government would investigate and arrest those responsible.
Watch: How Israeli settlers are besieging Palestinian family homes in West Bank
The situation in Qusra began on Sunday when settlers blocked the road to the Palestinian families’ gates and cut off their power and water supplies.
The first Israeli soldiers who came to the site prayed with the settlers – an act for which the Israeli military said they would be disciplined.
An attempt by Israeli security forces to dislodge the settlers on Wednesday led to confrontations with a bigger group.
Palestinian security camera video shared with the BBC showed confrontations between Israeli soldiers and border police and a large crowd of settlers. The security forces used tear gas and stun grenades.
It is not clear exactly what the settlers in Qusra want. In the past, settlers have forced Palestinians out of their homes and seized their properties.
Their stated aim is to empty the area of its Palestinian residents.
Settlements are illegal under international law, but the Israeli government has promoted their recent rapid expansion.
The case is the latest to draw attention to the relative impunity of settlers and how Israeli forces are struggling to deal with rising settler violence.
Since January 2023, 127 Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank have experienced full or partial displacement, including 47 that have been entirely displaced, affecting more than 6,390 Palestinians, the UN says.
It has registered that in 2026, about 3,800 Palestinians have been displaced due to settler violence, demolitions and evictions – nearly half of them children.
