At least 15 Palestinian people have been trapped by illegal Israeli settlers inside their homes in the town of Qusra, southeast of Nablus, in the northern occupied West Bank for the ninth day consecutively.

The siege began on Sunday, August 9, when dozens of Israeli colonists gathered around the targeted homes, established an outpost, and cut off water and electricity to the properties. They also launched violent attacks against the trapped Palestinian residents, throwing stones at them.

Watching his home from afar facing an imminent threat of being seized by the settlers, US citizen Loui Ridi flew back from the United States to the West Bank on Monday, August 17.

Ridi wanted to join his brother Qusai Abu Rida, and his teenage nephew Ahmad, as they insisted on staying inside his home to defend it.

“I have been in contact with the US embassy, but they have not guaranteed me a safe way to my house that’s still under siege, and the settlers are still able to come around this house,” Ridi told media reporters at the airport.

Israeli forces joined the siege of Qusra under the cover of maintaining order

A few days after Israeli settlers surrounded the homes in Qusra, Israeli forces deployed troops in the town to allegedly expel the settlers, protect residents, and maintain order.

However, the Israeli Army turned some houses of Palestinian citizens into military barracks, restricted the movement of residents inside the town, and prevented the entry of journalists, activists, and humanitarian aid.

**US ambassador labels the settler siege a “**horrific act of terror” **and “**thuggish behavior”

On Tuesday, August 12, Palestinian human rights advocate Ihab Hassan said onX that the White House had intervened and questioned Israel about why it allowed Israeli settlers to besiege a Palestinian home belonging to a US citizen in Qusra for several days.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee refuted Hassan’s statement, describing it as a “lie” in a post he wrote on X.

Huckabee claimed that the US Embassy in Jerusalem has been “VERY involved,” noting that Israeli forces and the Israel Police have intervened at the US request “to remove the Israeli terrorists doing this.”

“The actions of those doing this to this family’s home is criminal. The WH hasn’t ‘intervened’ because we have kept DC apprised of the situation already,” the US diplomat added.

“Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting. No excuse for such thuggish behavior,” he continued.

The siege of Qusra is not an isolated incident. For many, it reflects accelerating state-backed settler violence, which is expected to grow with the recent decision of the Israeli government to transfer all “civilian” law enforcement authority for Israelis in the West Bank from the Israeli Army to the Israeli Police.

Read more: Ben-Gvir’s police to assume law enforcement in West Bank

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