Dozens of masked Israeli settler militants launched an assault on homes surrounding the occupied West Bank village of Qusra over the weekend, marking the first significant attack following a recent standoff by settlers in the area that sparked international outrage.
During the incident, the settlers encircled a Palestinian residence, pelting it with stones while seven Palestinians were trapped inside, as reported by eyewitnesses to Reuters. Saddam Oday, one of the trapped individuals, recounted that the Israeli military deployed tear gas into the house and detained its occupants, except for him. Notably, the military did not apprehend any of the settlers involved and permitted them to depart.
The homeowner, Luay Bayrudi, disclosed that upon the military’s arrival, the soldiers handcuffed, blindfolded, and physically assaulted those inside before eventually releasing them. In response, the Israeli military issued a statement affirming that troops and border police were dispatched to disperse “rioters” and safeguard the residents within the residence.
Residents of the area reported recurrent incursions by settlers. Bayrudi revealed that after seeking assistance from the Israeli military, he and six others found themselves trapped inside the house for over an hour while being targeted with stones by the settlers. He displayed his bandaged arm, injured during the attack, to a Reuters correspondent.
The assault took place in close proximity to three residences besieged by settlers earlier in the month, prompting condemnation on a global scale and a substantial deployment of Israeli military personnel that effectively confined the residents to their homes. Loui Ridi, a Palestinian American residing in one of the besieged homes, witnessed the attack and highlighted the persistent encroachments by Israeli settlers in the vicinity, despite the heightened military presence.
According to rights groups, the escalating settler encroachment on the outskirts of Palestinian villages like Qusra forms part of a broader campaign by settlers to seize additional Palestinian land, encroaching on territory crucial for Palestinian statehood aspirations. Instances of violence by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank have been on the upswing, with some emboldened by the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who overseen extensive settlement expansions in the region.
The Israeli military reiterated its commitment, in a statement, to conduct operations in the Qusra and neighboring Jalud areas to curb further disturbances and restore order. While the United Nations and numerous countries regard the settlements as illegal under international law governing military occupations, Israel contests this, asserting the area as contentious rather than occupied.