Settlers remain in Qusra a day after Israeli commander pledged their removal

Israeli settlers remained present in and around the West Bank village of Qusra on Thursday, one day after Maj Gen Avi Bluth, the Israeli military commander responsible for the occupied West Bank, visited the village and committed to removing them. Israeli troops also ordered two Palestinian families to leave their homes early Thursday morning, citing a multi-day military operation, according to The Guardian.

The situation in Qusra, located south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, began on Sunday when Israeli settlers and soldiers erected a tent blocking the entrance to three Palestinian homes on the edge of the village. According to The Guardian, water and electricity supplies were severed and an ambulance was prevented from reaching a sick toddler during the siege.

Palestinian resident Qusai Abu Ridi told The Jerusalem Post that, while the tent structure was dismantled following Bluth's Wednesday visit, settlers returned to the same area. 'The forces left, and the settlers came back, first to a spot at the doorstep of my neighbor Youssef Hassan, and now to the place where they originally set up their tent, which is about seven meters from our house,' he said. 'I can see them from the window, sitting on mattresses and chairs.'

Abu Ridi told the Post that settlers had thrown stones at the house on multiple occasions and that the family had no protection. 'They haven't been evacuated, and we're afraid they will attack us,' he said. He also stated his belief that the settlers intend to remove the families and occupy the property, which belongs to his brother Louay, an American citizen who has sought assistance from the US embassy, according to the Post.

According to The Guardian, Israeli soldiers arrived at around 10am Thursday and asked residents to leave their homes for a three-day military operation. Resident Qusai Ridi said the families refused but were consolidated into one house by the army. He was later allowed to return to his home, where he said soldiers had damaged a security camera system and taken some equipment. The Guardian reported that soldiers occupied the home of his neighbour Yousef Hassan, who was staying with Ridi.

The Guardian reported that soldiers took over eight homes in the village early Thursday but later relinquished six of them. A previous attempt by troops to remove settlers using riot control techniques had failed, and after dismantling the tent, soldiers left the settlers' bedding and other equipment in place.

The Guardian noted that the village was also the location where 28-year-old Amir Moatasem Odeh was killed by a settler in March, and that his father was stabbed in the same attack. No arrests have been made in connection with the killing or assault, according to The Guardian.

Abu Ridi attributed the recent escalation to clashes that took place in the northern West Bank village of Tell a few weeks earlier, and told the Jerusalem Post that settler presence and harassment had increased since then. He said provocations by settlers had been ongoing since January.

Abu Ridi told the Post: 'We will hold on to our land and property. We will not let them expel us from this land and take over. Even if we are left only with salt and water, we'll stay here.'

Where sources differ

• The Guardian refers to the Palestinian resident as 'Qusai Ridi,' while The Jerusalem Post identifies the same individual as 'Qusai Abu Ridi.' It is unclear whether these are two different people or variant spellings of the same person's name.

• The Israeli military has not commented publicly on the events of Thursday, including the displacement of families or the failure to remove settlers.
• The identity, affiliation, and number of settlers present in the village are not established by any source.
• It is not confirmed whether the brother Louay, an American citizen, received any response from the US embassy.
• No source establishes what steps, if any, Israeli authorities plan to take to enforce Bluth's commitment to remove the settlers.
• No source clarifies whether any settlers or soldiers have faced legal consequences in connection with the siege, the severing of utilities, or the blocking of the ambulance.
• The current condition of the sick toddler who was denied ambulance access is not reported.
• No source confirms the status of the investigation or potential prosecution related to the March killing of Amir Moatasem Odeh and the assault on his father.

1. The Guardian — original — by Emma Graham-Harrison
2. The Straits Times — by The Straits Times
3. The Jerusalem Post — by DANA BEN-SHIMON

Read the original at The Guardian

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