Besieged West Bank Village Fears Settler Land Grab as Army Stands By

In the West Bank village of Qusra, Qusai Abu Rida watched from his window on Friday as Israeli settlers, who had pitched a tent in front of his home, moved into the valley below instead of returning to their nearby outpost. The army had taken positions around his house and two neighboring homes, which settlers have blockaded for most of the week, but the settlers remained close enough that Abu Rida fears they will return once the troops withdraw.

"I just don't know when this will end," he said, expressing exhaustion over a recurring cycle in which Israeli forces remove settlers, only for them to return after the army leaves. The home belongs to his brother, a Palestinian American living in Ohio, and Abu Rida is determined to stay and defend it.

The standoff has entered its sixth day, with activists attempting to march toward the besieged homes to deliver food and water. Ziv Stahl, executive director of the Israeli rights group Yesh Din, described the situation as "a kids' game, like cat and mouse," adding that it is "clearly not a matter of capability but a matter of will."

The incident is part of a broader wave of settler violence across the occupied West Bank, a territory Israel captured in the 1967 war and which Palestinians seek for a future state. The Israeli military has declared Qusra, located about 10 miles from Nablus, a closed military zone but did not respond to questions about the settlers' presence. Both the military and police referred queries about arrests in the village to each other.

Human rights activists say the army has threatened to use tear gas against them while doing little to stop the settlers. Itamar Weil, an activist with the group Bnei Avraham, said the army used to prevent such violence but now, with a government that supports settlers, they are failing to protect both sides.

Palestinian officials have recorded 1,476 settler attacks in 2026, including previous home takeovers on the outskirts of other towns. The Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry reports that 87 Palestinians have been killed by settlers and soldiers this year, while three Israelis have been killed by Palestinians.

On Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced he would transfer all enforcement powers against Israeli civilians in the West Bank from the military to the police, arguing the army should focus on fighting Palestinian terrorism rather than "chasing after boys on the hills." Rights groups, however, say this move is unlikely to restore order, as police will still require army escorts in Palestinian areas. Stahl noted that unless Katz intends to apply Israeli law across the West Bank, the military remains the primary authority.

The West Bank is home to roughly 2.8 million Palestinians under Israeli military rule, alongside more than 560,000 Israeli settlers living in communities widely considered illegal under international law. While the Palestinian Authority has limited autonomy in major cities, agreements from the 1990s give Israel security control over large areas, including agricultural regions like Qusra.