QUSRA, Palestinian Territories: The Israeli military failed in an attempt on Wednesday to remove occupied West Bank settlers who for days have blockaded Palestinian homes, an eyewitness and an AFP photographer reported.
The siege began on Sunday, when a group of settlers set up a makeshift tent near houses in the Palestinian village of Qusra, just south of Nablus, blocking essential supplies from entering.
“We have received no food and no medicine,” Qusai Abu Rida, a Palestinian trapped inside one of the houses, told AFP by telephone, adding that he had only managed to secure electricity thanks to solar panels.
The Israeli military condemned the settlers´ actions and declared the area a “closed military zone”, before on Wednesday morning removing the tent where the settlers had been staying.
Security forces “are working to evacuate the civilians who were staying there,” the military said in a statement.
By mid-afternoon, an AFP photographer at the scene said the military had left and the tent had been removed, but that the settlers were still at the site.
Abu Rida confirmed the situation remained unchanged, with the settlers still in possession of chairs and blankets.
“The army has withdrawn, and so far we are still besieged, with the settlers at our doorstep,” he told AFP.
Violence by Israeli settlers towards Palestinians in the West Bank has persisted for years, often with little or no legal consequence, but recent months have seen a surge in attacks.
