Israeli Forces Clash With Settlers in Qusra, Leaving Palestinian Families Under Siege

Israeli security forces withdrew on Wednesday from a Jewish settler outpost in the West Bank village of Qusra, near Nablus, after clashing with a crowd of extremist settlers. The withdrawal leaves about a dozen settlers at the site, which sits in the yard of a Palestinian family's home. The pullback comes days after settlers began besieging two Palestinian families in their residences, cutting off their water, power, and food supplies BBC Haaretz.

The besieged families — Abu Ridi and Hassan — have been trapped in their homes since Sunday. Palestinian security camera footage captured settlers tearing down an exterior wall of the Abu Ridi home on Sunday evening and using the stones to block the road. Settlers also built a makeshift structure in front of the house, blocking entry and exit, according to The Times of Israel BBC The Times of Israel. The families appealed for help on social media as food stocks ran low.

The properties lie in Area B of the West Bank — territory under Palestinian administrative control but Israeli security control. On Monday, settlers blocked journalists from Haaretz from reaching the Palestinian properties. Israeli soldiers declined to intervene when the journalists' car was blocked for two hours. The military declared the area a closed military zone but did not enforce the order against the settlers BBC.

Late on Tuesday, a Palestinian ambulance was permitted to reach the families, delivering food and evacuating one child for medical treatment. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement condemning the new outpost, stating that entering and seizing Palestinian homes was "illegal, reprehensible, and unacceptable activity" BBC.

On Wednesday, IDF Central Command head Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth and other senior officers arrived at the scene, met with residents, and voiced their "grave concern." Palestinian security camera video shared with the BBC documented confrontations between Israeli soldiers, border police, and a large crowd of settlers. Security forces deployed tear gas and stun grenades. Israeli forces confiscated the canopy sheltering the settlers while leaving their other equipment. The IDF stated that Border Police forces evacuated the settlers' tent and were working to evacuate the civilians staying there, adding that the incident was ongoing and that disciplinary action would be taken against security personnel documented at the site several days prior BBC.

The Israeli human rights group Yesh Din appealed to the head of the Israeli military's Central Command, urging the army to protect the besieged residents, evacuate the settlers' outpost, and hold the settlers accountable BBC.

A senior UN official told the UN Security Council in New York on Tuesday that "the West Bank is at breaking point" BBC.

The events in Qusra follow a separate, longer-running siege documented by Haaretz on July 20. The Tubasi family in the West Bank town of Jalud, south of Nablus, has been besieged by settlers for over two weeks despite an IDF presence, suffering repeated attacks since two settler outposts were established around them. The New Arab reported that activists say Israeli settlers and soldiers are blocking food and medical aid to a Palestinian family trapped in its West Bank home Haaretz The New Arab.

Qusra 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 completed mosque in the village was set on fire, with graffiti in Hebrew sprayed nearby BBC.

The broader context here involves a structural friction in the West Bank's security architecture. Under the Oslo Accords — the 1990s agreements between Israel and the Palestinians — Area B designates Palestinian civil authority and Israeli security responsibility. The IDF is formally responsible for the security of all residents in these zones, including Palestinians facing settler violence. Think of it as a landlord (the Palestinian Authority) handling day-to-day administration while a security company (the IDF) holds the keys to safety. When Israeli security forces withdraw from an outpost following clashes with settlers, leaving civilians under continued siege, it strains that arrangement. The IDF's pledge to discipline security personnel present at the site days prior indicates an internal acknowledgment of a failure to enforce earlier orders.

The physical displacement of structures, the blocking of roads with stones, and the denial of access to journalists and medical personnel point to a specific operational challenge for the Israeli military. Settler outposts in Area B, particularly those established right next to Palestinian homes, create a direct flashpoint. The IDF's condemnation of the outpost as illegal is consistent with standard Israeli law regarding unauthorized outposts — settlements built without Israeli government approval. The friction arises in enforcement. When security forces deploy tear gas and stun grenades against settlers, and subsequently withdraw without fully clearing the site, the gap between a declared military zone and the reality on the ground narrows.

For international observers and rights groups, the Qusra siege and the concurrent situation in Jalud feed into a broader assessment of protection mechanisms for Palestinian civilians in the occupied territory. Yesh Din's appeal to the Central Command directly targets this architecture, requesting evacuation, accountability, and protection in a single intervention. The UN Security Council briefing attaches diplomatic weight to these localized events. A top UN official's assessment that the West Bank is at breaking point signals that the international community is monitoring the IDF's enforcement gap closely.

What may come next hinges on the IDF's operational follow-through. The military has stated it is working to evacuate civilians from the site and will discipline personnel. If the remaining settlers are not removed and the families remain blocked, the gap between the IDF's stated legal position and its field enforcement will widen, likely drawing further intervention from rights groups and increased diplomatic scrutiny at the UN.