Israeli settlers keep up siege of Palestinian homes despite army intervention

The Israeli military said Wednesday it would send more troops to try to impose order on defiant settlers after failing to end their blockade of Palestinians' homes in the occupied West Bank.

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", removing their tent on Wednesday morning.

But 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 there.

Abu Rida said the settlers had chairs and blankets.

"The army has withdrawn, and so far we are still besieged, with the settlers at our doorstep," he said.

The military announced later Wednesday that it would send an additional infantry battalion and that more soldiers would be on standby.

The chief of the general staff "directed that efforts to strengthen order and operational control in the area continue, as well as efforts to prevent further serious incidents", a military statement said.

The Israeli military a day earlier said it had received reports of settlers entering and taking control of Palestinian homes and land in the area.

"This is illegal, reprehensible and unacceptable activity that harms the residents of the areas and disrupts their daily lives," it said.

It also said that disciplinary action would be taken against security personnel who had been filmed at the site days earlier.

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.

More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the Palestinian territory, which are illegal under international law, among some three million Palestinians. 

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

According to an AFP tally based on data from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,097 Palestinians in the West Bank, including both militants and civilians, since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

Israeli figures show at least 48 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations during the same period.

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