About a dozen Israeli settlers were reportedly still present at an outpost near two Palestinian family homes in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra on Wednesday, after Israeli security forces withdrew from the site.
Members of the Abu Ridi and Hassan families say they have been unable to leave their homes since Sunday after settlers blocked access to the properties. The families said water and electricity supplies had been cut, while food stocks were running low. Seven people, including two young girls, were reportedly trapped inside the homes.
Palestinian security-camera footage from Sunday showed settlers dismantling a wall outside the Abu Ridi home and using stones to obstruct the road, according to the report. The homes are in Area B of the West Bank, where Palestinians hold administrative control while Israel retains security control.
Qusay Abu Ridi said in a Facebook post that the families were completely isolated and appealed for the right to remain safely in their home. Aysha Hassan told Reuters that settlers had tried to force their way through the gate and had thrown stones, while her family was extremely frightened.
Security response and access
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that entering and taking over Palestinian homes was illegal, reprehensible and unacceptable. It said its Central Command chief, Maj Gen Avi Bluth, and other senior officers visited the location early on Wednesday and expressed grave concern after meeting residents.
Video shared with the BBC later showed confrontations between Israeli forces and a large crowd of settlers. Soldiers and border police used tear gas and stun grenades, while other footage appeared to show forces removing the canopy used by settlers at the outpost. The Israel Defense Forces said border police were working to remove civilians from the site and that the incident was continuing. It also said disciplinary action would be taken against security personnel filmed at the site days earlier.
Late on Tuesday, a Palestinian ambulance was allowed to reach the families, delivering food and taking one child for medical treatment. Earlier, Israeli journalists from Haaretz said settlers had prevented them from reaching the homes and that soldiers did not intervene when their vehicle was blocked. The journalists said soldiers described the area as a closed military zone, but the restriction was not enforced against settlers.
Wider concerns
Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group, urged the military on Tuesday to protect the residents, remove the outpost and hold settlers accountable. Qusra’s mayor, Abdel Azim Wadi, said residents had observed a sustained pattern of attacks targeting the village. He cited an arson attack on a newly completed mosque last month, when Hebrew graffiti was sprayed nearby.
At the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov said settler violence had reached unprecedented levels and described the West Bank as being at breaking point. UN figures cited in the briefing said 76 Palestinians, including 18 children, had been killed in the West Bank this year by Israeli forces or settlers. Three Israelis, including one civilian, were also killed in confrontations with Palestinians and in an alleged ramming attack, according to the figures.
All Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law, while outposts are established without official Israeli authorisation. Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, rejected the view that settlements obstruct peace and said they would remain and expand.
Source: BBC News
