Dozens of masked Israeli settler militants launched an assault on residences near the occupied West Bank village of Qusra over the weekend, marking the most significant attack following a recent siege by settlers that sparked international outrage. Witnesses informed Reuters that in one incident, settlers besieged a Palestinian home, pelting it with stones while seven Palestinians were trapped inside.
Saddam Oday, one of the trapped individuals, recounted that the Israeli military deployed tear gas into the house and apprehended the inhabitants while releasing him. Notably, the military did not detain any of the settlers involved and permitted them to depart. Luay Bayrudi, the homeowner, revealed that upon the military’s arrival, soldiers handcuffed, blindfolded, and assaulted those inside before eventually setting them free.
In response, the Israeli military stated that troops and border police forces intervened to disperse the “rioters” and safeguard the residents within the house. When questioned about the use of tear gas, detainment, and assault on the residents, the military did not immediately provide a comment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing the violence in Qusra for the first time, condemned the acts and attributed them to a “handful of rioters.” He expressed strong disapproval of the criminal violence in Qusra and a neighboring village, Jalud, in a public statement.
Residents reported enduring frequent incursions, with Bayrudi narrating an episode where he and six others sought refuge inside the house for over an hour as settlers hurled stones. He exhibited his bandaged arm, injured during the attack, to a Reuters correspondent. Oday, a medic, disclosed that four of the trapped individuals sustained injuries from tear gas, while two were hurt by the settlers’ stones.
The assault took place near three homes recently besieged by settlers, prompting widespread condemnation and a substantial Israeli military presence that has effectively confined residents to their homes. Loui Ridi, a Palestinian American resident whose home was among those besieged, observed the attack from his residence, highlighting the frequent incursions by Israeli settlers despite heightened military presence in the area.
Rights groups have pointed out that the escalating settler presence on the outskirts of Palestinian villages like Qusra is part of a larger campaign to seize Palestinian land, encroaching on territory designated for a future Palestinian state. Incidents of violence by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank have surged, with some emboldened by the Israeli government’s settlement expansion under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Israeli military affirmed its commitment, alongside border police, to maintain operations in Qusra and the neighboring Jalud to prevent further disruptions and restore order. While most countries and the United Nations classify the settlements as illegal under international law governing military occupations, Israel contests this view, regarding the area as disputed rather than occupied.