Israeli troops fail to disperse settlers besieging Palestinian families in West Bank village

On August 12, 2026, Israeli security forces withdrew from the West Bank village of Qusra after failing to disperse a group of extremist settlers who had been blockading Palestinian families since August 9. Despite the military dismantling a settler tent, about a dozen settlers remained at the site, continuing to trap residents like the Abu Ridi and Hassan families. The incident highlights rising tensions and a surge in settler violence, which UN officials warn has pushed the West Bank to a breaking point.

Qusra settler siege

• ▪Palestinian resident Aysha Hassan stated that Israeli settlers threw stones, cursed, and tried to break the gate of her family's home in Qusra during the August 2026 siege.
• ▪On Sunday, August 9, 2026, a group of Israeli settlers set up a makeshift tent outpost near Palestinian homes in the West Bank village of Qusra, blockading two Palestinian families.
• ▪On Monday, August 10, 2026, Israeli settlers blocked journalists from the Haaretz newspaper from reaching the properties in Qusra, while Israeli soldiers at the scene refused to intervene.
• ▪On Sunday evening, August 9, 2026, Israeli settlers tore down a wall outside the Abu Ridi family's home in Qusra and used the stones to block the road, trapping seven people inside.
• ▪The blockaded Palestinian families in Qusra, including the Abu Ridi and Hassan families, reported that their food, water, and medicine supplies were running low, and their power was cut off.

Israeli military withdrawal

• ▪The Israel Defense Forces and Border Police dismantled the settlers' tent canopy in Qusra on August 12, 2026, but withdrew from the site, leaving about a dozen settlers still present.
• ▪Central Command Chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth visited the Qusra site on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, meeting with the besieged Palestinian family and expressing grave concern.
• ▪The Israel Defense Forces announced that disciplinary action would be taken against security personnel who were filmed praying with settlers at the Qusra site.
• ▪The Israel Defense Forces declared the area around Qusra a closed military zone on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, following reports of settlers taking control of Palestinian homes.
• ▪On Wednesday morning, August 12, 2026, Israeli security forces clashed with extremist settlers while attempting to dismantle the makeshift outpost in Qusra.

Settler displacement strategy

• ▪In July 2026, Israeli settlers surrounded a Palestinian home in the nearby village of Jalud for over two weeks, eventually taking over the property after the owners fled.
• ▪The stated aim of the Israeli settlers in Qusra is to empty the area of its Palestinian residents and seize their properties.
• ▪Since January 2023, 127 Palestinian communities in the West Bank have experienced full or partial displacement, including 47 entirely displaced communities, according to the United Nations.
• ▪According to the United Nations, about 3,800 Palestinians, nearly half of them children, have been displaced in 2026 due to settler violence, demolitions, and evictions.

West Bank violence surge

• ▪In July 2026, a newly completed mosque in Qusra was set on fire and defaced with Hebrew graffiti following an escalation in the village of Tal that left six people dead.
• ▪United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov stated on August 11, 2026, that settler violence has reached unprecedented levels and the West Bank is at a breaking point.
• ▪According to an AFP tally, Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,097 Palestinians, while Palestinian attacks have killed at least 48 Israelis, since October 2023.
• ▪According to United Nations figures, 76 Palestinians and three Israelis have been killed in the West Bank in 2026.

Settlement illegality under international law

• ▪All Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law, whereas outposts are set up without official Israeli authorization.
• ▪Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, dismissed the idea that settlements are an obstacle to peace, asserting Israel's biblical, historic, and legal rights to the land.
• ▪More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank alongside approximately three million Palestinians.
• ▪According to the Israeli settlement watchdog group Peace Now, there are 146 settlements and 390 smaller outposts in the West Bank.

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