Israeli settlers besieging Palestinian families in West Bank village

Is aeli settle s have bee besiegi g two Palesti ia families i thei homes i the occupied West Ba k si ce Su day, with the families sayi g thei supplies we e u i g out a d ights g oups u gi g the autho ities to step i .

O Wed esday Is aeli secu ity fo ces we e epo ted to have withd aw f om the Jewish settle outpost i the village of Qus a ea Nablus, followi g clashes with a c owd of ext emist settle s. About a doze settle s a e said to emai at the site.

Afte the Palesti ia homeow e s made thei i itial epo t to the Is aeli a my, the fi st soldie s who a ived at the sce e we e filmed p ayi g with the settle s.

The Abu Ridi a d Hassa families have bee posti g o social media appeali g fo help afte thei wate a d powe supplies we e cut off a d thei food stocks a low.

The latest developme ts come as a top UN official told the Secu ity Cou cil i New Yo k o Tuesday that “the West Ba k is at b eaki g poi t”.

All settleme ts a e illegal u de i te atio al law. Outposts a e set up without official Is aeli autho isatio .

Palesti ia secu ity came a footage shows settle s tea i g dow a wall outside the Abu Ridi family’s home o Su day eve i g a d usi g the sto es to block the oad.

This left seve people – i cludi g two you g gi ls – u able to leave thei homes while othe Palesti ia s could ot each them. They live i what is k ow as A ea B, pa t of the West Ba k u de Palesti ia admi ist ative co t ol a d Is aeli secu ity co t ol.

Posti g o Facebook, Qusay Abu Ridi said the situatio was c itical, “especially as we a e completely isolated.”

He w ote: “We a e livi g i ou ow home, o ou ow la d, a d we a e aski g fo othi g mo e tha the ight to live safely a d with dig ity.”

O Mo day, Is aeli settle s blocked Is aeli jou alists f om the left-lea i g Haa etz ewspape f om t yi g to each the Palesti ia p ope ties. The epo te s said Is aeli soldie s at the sce e efused to help them whe thei ca was blocked fo two hou s. They we e told the a ea was a closed milita y zo e, howeve the o de was ot e fo ced o the settle s.

A day late the Is aeli huma ights g oup Yesh Di u ge tly appealed to the head of the Is aeli milita y’s Ce t al Comma d fo the a my to p otect the besieged eside ts, evacuate the settle s’ outpost a d hold the settle s accou table.

Late o Tuesday, a Palesti ia ambula ce was fi ally allowed to each the families, delive i g food a d taki g o e child away fo medical t eatme t.

At about the same time, the Is ael Defe se Fo ces (IDF) put out a stateme t co dem i g the establishme t of the ew outpost. It said that e te i g a d seizi g Palesti ia homes was “illegal, ep ehe sible, a d u acceptable activity”.

Whe the head of its Ce t al Comma d, Maj Ge Avi Bluth a d othe se io office s a ived at the sce e ea ly o Wed esday they a e said to have met eside ts a d voiced thei “g ave co ce “.

Afte wa ds, Palesti ia secu ity came a video sha ed with the BBC showed co f o tatio s betwee Is aeli soldie s a d bo de police a d a la ge c owd of settle s. The secu ity fo ces used tea gas a d stu g e ades.

I othe footage, the Is aeli fo ces appea to have co fiscated the ca opy u de which the settle s we e shelte i g, while leavi g thei othe equipme t.

“Bo de Police fo ces evacuated the te t a d a e wo ki g to evacuate the civilia s who we e stayi g the e. The i cide t is still o goi g,” the IDF stated.

It said it was decided that “discipli a y actio would be take agai st the secu ity pe so el i volved, who we e docume ted at the site seve al days ago”.

The Palesti ia village mayo , Abdel Azim Wadi, told the BBC that local eside ts had see “a clea a d sustai ed patte of ta geti g Qus a”. Last mo th a ewly completed mosque was set o fi e with g affiti i Heb ew sp ayed ea by.

That settle attack was o e of ma y that followed o f om a i cide t i the Palesti ia village of Tal. Afte Is aeli settle s attacked Tal, it t igge ed a escalatio i which six people we e killed – fou Palesti ia s a d two Is aeli soldie s – o e of whom acted as a secu ity coo di ato fo a ea by Is aeli settleme t.

I July, settle s also su ou ded a Palesti ia home i the village of Jalud, ea Qus a, fo mo e tha two weeks. Afte wa ds, the ow e s fled a d settle s took ove the p ope ty whe e they emai u til ow.

“Settle viole ce has eached u p ecede ted levels,” the UN’s Deputy Special Coo di ato fo the Middle East Peace P ocess, Ramiz Alakba ov, told the Secu ity Cou cil i a b iefi g o Tuesday.

He gave what he desc ibed as “the sobe i g huma toll” a d me tio ed that the Nablus Gove o ate i pa ticula had bee hit ha d ece tly by viole ce.

Acco di g to the UN’s figu es, 76 Palesti ia s – i cludi g 18 child e – have bee killed i the West Ba k this yea , by Is aeli fo ces o settle s. At the same time, th ee Is aelis – i cludi g o e civilia – we e killed i co f o tatio s with Palesti ia s a d i a alleged ammi g attack by a Palesti ia i the West Ba k.

Si ce Ja ua y 2023, 127 Palesti ia commu ities i the West Ba k have expe ie ced full o pa tial displaceme t, i cludi g 47 that have bee e ti ely displaced, affecti g mo e tha 6,390 Palesti ia s, the UN says.

It has egiste ed that i 2026, about 3,800 Palesti ia s, ea ly half of them child e , have bee displaced due to settle viole ce, demolitio s a d evictio s.

Speaki g at the UN meeti g, Is ael’s Ambassado to the UN, Da y Da o dismissed the idea that settleme ts we e a obstacle to peace. He said that they would emai a d co ti ue to g ow as his cou t y had biblical, histo ic a d legal ights to the la d.

He said that the Secu ity Cou cil “must u de sta d a simple t uth: we a e ot goi g a ywhe e.”