The recent incident of militant Israeli settlers besieging Palestinian homes in the village of Qusra in the occupied West Bank is not an isolated event. However, the U.S. citizenship of one of the Palestinian homeowners has garnered more media coverage than the frequent acts of aggression by hardline Jewish settlers trying to displace Palestinians from their land, which usually go unnoticed.
Loui Ridi, a businessman from Ohio, returned to Qusra on August 17 to protect his home, as well as his brother and nephew residing there, from settlers who had surrounded it along with two nearby homes.
Upon his arrival, Ridi recounted in a video call with CBC news that his brother informed him about the lack of food and reluctance to leave the house due to the fear of losing it to the settlers.
He highlighted a similar recent incident in a neighboring village where settlers managed to force a family out of their house after a prolonged siege.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are deemed illegal under international law and have notably expanded under the current Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ultranationalist coalition partners, who are criticized for implicitly endorsing settler violence.
One of Ridi’s initial actions upon returning to Qusra was to display an American flag on the roof of his building, and he has sought assistance from the U.S. Embassy.
Situated approximately 16 kilometers south of Nablus, Qusra is encircled by settlement blocs like Migdalim and Shilo, as well as increasing numbers of outposts inhabited by radical settlers.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, incidents of settler attacks causing casualties or property damage have averaged around six per day this year, marking a record high.
Following the violence in Qusra, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee publicly condemned the perpetrators as “Israeli terrorists,” expressing dismay over the criminal acts targeting innocent families.
Huckabee, a staunch supporter of Israel’s settlement policy and Jewish historical claims to the land, refrains from labeling the violent settlers as “settlers” and instead refers to them as “un-settlers.”
More than 700,000 Israeli settlers currently reside in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, with some living in established blocs and others in illegal outposts, even under Israeli law.
Huckabee dismisses the violent settlers as a minority group, overlooking the broader issue of what critics describe as a de-facto annexation of the West Bank facilitated by escalating violence.
Dror Etkes, the founder of Kerem Navot, an Israeli NGO monitoring settlements, emphasized that the root problem lies in the system that perpetuates such violence, questioning Israel’s ability to govern three million Palestinians in the West Bank amidst increasing land seizures for settlers.
In response to the turmoil in Qusra, Israeli security forces, including border police and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), were deployed to the area to restore order and disperse the settlers blockading Palestinian homes.
Ridi reported that IDF soldiers declared a military zone around his property, advising him to stay indoors while allowing a settler to approach his home and intimidate him.
A video released by Reuters reportedly recorded an Israeli soldier throwing items from a besieged house’s balcony in Qusra, raising concerns about the behavior of security forces in the area.
For Palestinians, such incidents blur the line between soldiers and settlers, as IDF units in the West Bank sometimes include ideological settlers, and the military also trains settler security units.
The continued presence of settlers in Qusra without permanent removal fuels Palestinian beliefs that the IDF enables Israel’s settlement activities rather than enforcing the law.
Residents like Rabia Odeh, who previously faced settler violence, remain vigilant due to the ongoing threats, with a perceived collusion between settlers and the Israeli army.
Increased violence on the outskirts of Palestinian communities aims to restrict Palestinian movement and consolidate settlement expansion efforts, as observed in Qusra and various other villages across the West Bank.
Furthermore, international condemnation, including from countries like Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, was directed at Israel’s decision to publish construction tenders for a new settlement known as E1 near East Jerusalem, which threatens the viability of a two-state solution.