Sam Hamad & Mahmoud al-Saadi
The New Arab / August 14, 2026
Israel presses ahead with West Bank operations as Jewish settler siege in Qusra draws US, French and UN criticism and attacks continue in Taybeh.
Ramallah – Israeli forces and settlers continued their assault against Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank on Friday despite mounting international condemnation over the siege of homes in Qusra and escalating attacks elsewhere.
In Qusra, south of Nablus, settlers remained near Palestinian homes for a sixth consecutive day, while Israeli forces prevented foreign and Israeli solidarity activists from reaching besieged families with water and other basic supplies.
The siege has drawn unusually sharp criticism from Washington, with White House officials pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly condemn the settlers after learning that one of the affected homes belongs to a Palestinian American.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee – a supporter of the settler movement –described those responsible as “Israeli terrorists” and their actions as “criminal”, while France condemned what it called the “occupation” of Palestinian homes and called on Israeli authorities to arrest and prosecute those responsible.
Amid the criticism, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to prepare a plan to transfer civilian law enforcement in the occupied West Bank to the police.
“The army’s role is to combat Palestinian terrorism … and not chase hilltop youth,” Katz said, using a term commonly applied to hardline young settlers involved in establishing unauthorised outposts and attacks on Palestinians.
Under the proposal, Israel Police would establish a dedicated force to handle civilian matters in the occupied territory.
Settlers returned on Friday morning to an outpost near Palestinian homes in Qusra, erecting a canopy in the presence of soldiers. Border Police later dismantled it, but the settlers remained nearby.
The confrontation has centred on the Ras al-Ain area west of Qusra, where settlers established an outpost between three Palestinian homes belonging to the families of brothers Rizq and Youssef Hassan and Qusay Abu Rida.
Residents have been prevented from moving freely and accessing basic necessities, while settlers last month cut water and electricity supplies to three neighbouring homes, according to the UN Human Rights Office.
Mohammad Joudat, a media activist from Qusra, told The New Arab that foreign and Israeli solidarity activists attempted on Friday to bring water and other supplies to the besieged families.
“Israeli forces arrived at the scene, prevented them from reaching the homes and completely removed them from the area,” Joudat said.
Israeli forces entered Qusra on Thursday and evacuated the three homes before gathering their residents in one of them.
Local reports said the army subsequently informed residents of 16 homes that they would have to evacuate so they could be used as military positions.
The UN Human Rights Office said settlers had consolidated control over the area west of Qusra since an outpost was established there in November 2025.
Residents have since faced home invasions, physical assaults, theft, vandalism and arson, including an attack on a mosque, it said.
The UN office said the latest actions, carried out with Israeli support or acquiescence, were making life “intolerable” for Palestinian families and were clearly aimed at forcing them from their homes and land.
Taybeh faces continued attacks
The events in Qusra come amid a wider escalation in settler attacks across the occupied West Bank, including in Taybeh, the territory’s last entirely Christian Palestinian village.
Israel declared Taybeh a closed military zone earlier this month, saying the measure was intended to protect residents following repeated settler attacks.
But Ihab Hassan, a Palestinian Christian activist, told The New Arab that attacks had continued despite the closure, while journalists, foreign activists and other outside observers faced restrictions on entering the village.
“No, the Israeli army is not protecting the residents. I say this based on what is actually happening on the ground,” Hassan said.
“Israeli settler attacks on the village have continued even after it was declared a closed military zone. The difference now is that journalists, foreign activists, and other outside observers face restrictions on entering.”
Hassan said international and Israeli activists had previously provided a protective presence in Taybeh, sometimes placing themselves between settlers and Palestinian residents.
“Restricting their access while settlers continue to reach and attack the village has left the community even more isolated and vulnerable,” he said.
Hassan said the situation reflected a broader pattern across the occupied territory.
“In some cases, the army says it will ‘remove’ the settlers, but the fact that an army claims it cannot remove settlers who are besieging Palestinian families speaks for itself,” he said.
He argued that settlers were also seeking to exploit the current political environment to seize land and establish realities that would be difficult to reverse.
“Once families are driven from their homes, land and property are taken over, and new facts are established on the ground, reversing them becomes extraordinarily difficult, even under a future Israeli government that might take a different approach,” Hassan said.
“For Taybeh, this is therefore not simply about individual attacks,” he added.
“It is about whether the last entirely Christian Palestinian village in the West Bank can remain on its land.”
Sam Hamad is a historian and freelance writer and editor
Mahmoud al-Saadi is a Ramallah-based journalist
