Israeli Settlers Resume West Bank Siege After Eviction
New York Times · LC · trust 62/100
The military’s failure to keep extremists away from two Palestinian families trapped in their West Bank homes made clear the chaos gripping the Israeli-occupied territory.
Listen · 3:43 min Share full article Israeli soldiers patrolling a street Thursday during an operation in the village of Qusra, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Credit... Zain Jaafar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images By Natan Odenheimer and Fatima AbdulKarim
Natan Odenheimer reported from Jerusalem and Fatima AbdulKarim from Bir Zeit, in the West Bank.
The Palestinian families had been trapped in their homes since Sunday by Israeli settlers, who had erected a tent nearby and, residents said, attacked them, including with rocks.
On Thursday morning, Israeli soldiers dismantled structures set up in the area by the settlers, confiscated some equipment, detained one settler and dispersed the rest, according to a military statement.
The operation came after heightened media attention, including the disclosure that one of the homes’ owners, Louai Abu Ridi, 46, is an American citizen. Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, condemned the settlers and said the United States had urged Israel to intervene.
“The actions of those doing this to this family’s home is criminal,” wrote Mr. Huckabee, a longtime supporter of the settler movement. He said, “Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting.”
But just hours after the eviction operation ended in the village of Qusra, located in the northern West Bank, at least nine settlers returned to the site where they were previously encamped outside one of the homes, according to interviews with two residents and video footage reviewed by The New York Times.
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