Palestinian residents trapped as Israeli settlers surround home in occupied West Bank village

Palestinian residents trapped as Israeli settlers surround home in occupied West Bank village Submitted by MEE staff on Sat, 08/29/2026 - 16:23 Settlers reportedly set fire to Palestinian land near Qusra, which has been besieged for several weeks Israeli soldiers stand in front of the entrance of a besieged Palestinian house by Israeli settlers in the village of Qusra, in the occupied West Bank, on 14 August 2026 (AFP/Jaafar Ashtiyeh) Off Israeli settlers continue to besiege a Palestinian home in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra, leaving at least four people trapped inside as settlers set fire to nearby lands. Footage posted online showed dozens of settlers walking to the outskirts of Qusra and removing stones from a nearby road. Emergency coordination is also ongoing to allow ambulances to access the area south of Nablus to evacuate at least one wounded individual. Both the Israeli military and border police forces said they responded to clashes involving "Israeli rioters" in Qusra. According to a joint statement, dozens of Israeli settlers entered and barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian home. Palestinian authorities said several Palestinians, including a woman, suffered injuries during the home invasion and reported that the settlers had thrown stones at Palestinians. Israeli forces said they removed the settlers from the house, seized their vehicles and planned to stay in the area to prevent further clashes and restore order. But Qusra Mayor Abdul Azim Wadi told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces had tried to arrest Palestinians who remained trapped inside the besieged home. The incident is the latest in an escalating campaign of settler violence targeting Qusra over the past month. Earlier on Saturday, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international community to intervene to protect the residents of al-Mughayyir, a village northeast of Ramallah. ‘We are starving’: Palestinians besieged by settlers in West Bank homes run out of food Read More » In a statement condemning the recent settler attacks, the ministry highlighted a "suffocating" military and economic blockade that has been imposed on the village for nearly three weeks. Officials described the siege, which includes the random targeting of civilians, as part of a systematic campaign to eradicate the Palestinian presence in the area. The ministry characterised these actions as a deliberate policy of "killing, terrorism and forced displacement", warning against Israel's "invocation of displacement and extermination policies". The statement further cautioned that providing Israeli settlers with political and legal cover risks sparking an uncontrollable escalation, emphasising that swift global action is critical to halting the violence. Earlier this month, Israeli settlers imprisoned Palestinian families inside three homes in the Ras al-Ain area of the village. The ongoing siege has severed the residents' access to necessities, including water, electricity and food supplies. In July, settlers also set a local mosque on fire. The Israeli military has entrenched the isolation by declaring the area a closed military zone. A gate has been installed at Qusra's main entrance, forcing Palestinians travelling into the village to navigate alternative routes that soldiers frequently obstruct. On Wednesday, the army erected three new roadblocks encircling the top of Ras al-Ain hill, physically disconnecting the besieged homes from the lower areas of the village. Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian homes, businesses and farmland in the occupied West Bank have been a systemic issue for decades as illegal settlements continue to expand. However, these state-backed assaults have surged in both intensity and frequency since the outbreak of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. Israel's genocide in Gaza News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0