Israeli settlers besiege Palestinian families in West Bank homes

In the West Bank village of Qusra, Yousef Hassan woke to find his home surrounded. On Sunday afternoon, a group of Israeli settlers and soldiers erected a tent outside his door, effectively trapping him inside with his wife and two young daughters. What began as a blockade would stretch into days of isolation, severed utilities, and blocked medical care—part of what appeared to be a coordinated effort to force the family from their property.

The siege was not random. The spot where the settlers positioned themselves lay just meters from where Amir Moatasem Odeh, a 28-year-old Palestinian, had been killed by a settler in March. That same settler had also stabbed Odeh's father. No arrests have been made in either case. Hassan's mother, brother, sister, and three neighbors found themselves similarly confined, their homes cut off from the outside world. Power lines were severed. Water stopped flowing. The only electricity came from a single solar panel that allowed Hassan to charge a few devices.

The real crisis came on Monday when Hassan's two-year-old daughter fell ill with vomiting and a high fever. An ambulance was called, but settlers blocked its path to the house. The child, along with her mother and sister, were eventually evacuated on Tuesday, but only after the siege had already taken its toll. The remaining family members rationed what little they had—drinking water and juice delivered by the ambulance that had come to retrieve the sick child. "The situation is extremely dire," Hassan said. Food was running short. The psychological weight of confinement, combined with nightly stone-throwing and obscene shouting from the settlers, had transformed the home into something closer to a prison. "Every night, the settlers throw stones, use obscene language and shout during the night. We are living in a state of terror," he recounted.

This was not an isolated tactic. In neighboring Jalud village, settlers had employed the same playbook months earlier, using a prolonged siege to drive out the al Tubasi family and seize their home in July. The pattern suggested coordination, a methodology refined through repetition. According to the rights group B'Tselem, Israeli forces have forcibly displaced 64 Palestinian communities over the past three years. Another 15 communities have lost residents, with more than 4,800 people driven from their homes. "What is happening in Qusra is not an isolated incident," said B'Tselem's executive director, Yuli Novak. "Settler militias, backed by the Israeli military, are expanding their attacks into Palestinian villages and towns—seizing land, attacking homes and forcing families out. Israel's ethnic cleansing of the West Bank is accelerating and expanding in plain sight."

On Wednesday morning, the regional commander of Israeli forces, General Avi Bluth, visited the besieged families and promised to lift the siege. Hassan confirmed the visit and expressed cautious hope. "Today, the area commander came and spoke with us and assured us that he would evacuate the settlers. For the first time, I feel that there is some seriousness on the part of the army in dealing with the settlers," he said. Soldiers removed the tent and briefly clashed with the settlers before withdrawing. But the promise remained unfulfilled. The settlers did not leave. Bedding and other possessions remained outside the homes. Hassan could still not leave his house. "The settlers are still there in front of the house, and we are still unable to leave," he said.

The Israeli military's response escalated at the command level. That Wednesday evening, the chief of the general staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Eyal Zamir, convened senior commanders to discuss the situation. He ordered a battalion of infantry reservists back from leave to reinforce troops in the West Bank. A military spokesperson said the battalion would be deployed "to strengthen operational control" and that additional soldiers would remain on standby. The military also stated it was working with police to bring "those responsible for the disturbances to justice" and that commanders were "gravely concerned" about the settlers' actions, with promises of disciplinary measures for soldiers who supported them. No timeline was provided for ending the siege.

The broader context made the promises ring hollow. Since 2020, Israeli civilians and soldiers have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians in the West Bank. There has been only one indictment resulting from those deaths. Settlers and soldiers operate with what amounts to near total impunity. The military had also declared the area a closed military zone and blocked journalists from approaching the homes, yet settlers remained free to operate. As the occupying power, Israel bears responsibility under international law for the safety of Palestinian civilians and their basic needs. Dozens of Israeli security, political, and cultural figures have threatened legal action against their government over its failure to stop what they call "Jewish terrorism" in the occupied territories. For Hassan and his family, the promises of intervention meant little while the siege continued.