TPC Staff
The Palestine Chronicle / August 13, 2026
Israeli occupation forces imposed a curfew on Qusra and forced Palestinians from their homes amid an escalating settler siege across the West Bank.
Qusra under siege
Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Qusra, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, on Thursday, imposing a curfew and forcing Palestinian residents from homes that had been under siege by illegal Jewish settlers.
The escalation came after settlers established an outpost near Palestinian homes in the Ras al-Ain area and began restricting access to three families, cutting them off from essential supplies.
Qusra Mayor Abdul-Azim Wadi told Al-Jazeera that hundreds of Israeli soldiers had surrounded the town, while dozens were deployed inside it.
He said the Israeli military closed the village and imposed a curfew, preventing municipal crews from reaching families in Ras al-Ain to provide water, electricity, food and medicine.
The siege began on Sunday after settlers erected a tent near Palestinian homes, including that of a Palestinian who also holds US citizenship.
According to residents, Jewish settlers subsequently blocked access to the area, preventing essential supplies from reaching the families.
The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said settlers had blocked roads leading to the homes with stones while cutting water and electricity lines.
Palestinians forced from homes
Wadi reportedly said that despite the Israeli military announcing that it had removed two settler outposts near Qusra and Jalud, soldiers instead ordered Palestinian families to evacuate two of the besieged homes until Sunday morning.
The displaced residents moved into a third Palestinian home at the site rather than leaving the area entirely.
“This is very dangerous for us. We fear that the storming of homes is a prelude to settlers taking control of them,” Wadi said.
He called for municipal workers to be granted immediate access to the families to provide essential assistance.
The Israeli military said it had dismantled two illegal settler outposts and detained one Israeli. However, residents said settlers remained in the area after the operation
Israeli Channel 12 reported that settlers returned to Qusra at dawn Thursday after Israeli forces had removed them the previous night.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the siege, accusing Israeli authorities of using settlers as a tool for forced displacement and the advancement of plans to annex the occupied West Bank.
US condemns settler ‘intimidation’
The escalating situation in Qusra also prompted criticism from Washington.
A US State Department spokesperson told Al-Jazeera that Washington condemns criminal acts of violence committed by any party in the West Bank and called for allegations to be investigated and those responsible prosecuted where appropriate.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a longtime supporter of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, separately condemned the settlers’ actions against the Palestinian family.
“The actions of those who carried out this horrific act of intimidation, intended to frighten and harass this family, are despicable,” Huckabee said.
“There is no excuse for such thuggish behaviour,” he added, saying Israeli occupation authorities had intervened following a US request.
Israeli War Minister Israel Katz, however, claimed on Thursday that there was no settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Katz made the statement during the inauguration of the Ganim settlement in the northern occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media.
UN: settler violence reaches ‘dangerous level’
The UN Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory warned that settler attacks have reached a “new and dangerous level.”
It called on Israel to protect Palestinians, hold perpetrators accountable and immediately remove settlers who terrorize Palestinian communities.
The UN office specifically highlighted Qusra, saying three Palestinian families, including children, had remained trapped in their homes after settlers cut water and electricity supplies, blocked access and erected a tent near the properties.
According to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Jewish settlers carried out 12,506 attacks between October 7, 2023, and June 30, 2026.
Those attacks killed 52 Palestinians and included 890 incidents in which Palestinian property or agricultural land was set ablaze, according to the commission.
(TPC, AJA, WAFA)
