QUSRA, 29 August, 2026 (Nosheen): Dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian homes in and around the occupied West Bank village of Qusra on Saturday, in the first major incident since a settler siege in the area earlier this month triggered international condemnation. According to witnesses, the settlers surrounded a Palestinian home and threw stones at the building while seven Palestinians were trapped inside. One of those inside, Saddam Oday, said Israeli military forces fired tear gas into the house and detained residents inside while allowing him to leave. He also said that, according to his account, Israeli forces did not detain any of the settlers and allowed them to leave the area. The owner of the house, Luay Bayrudi, said Israeli soldiers handcuffed, blindfolded and beat people inside the house before later releasing them. The Israeli military said troops and border police arrived at the scene to remove what it described as “rioters” and protect the residents inside the house. The military did not immediately comment on reports that tear gas was fired into the home or that residents were detained and beaten.
Bayrudi said he and six others were trapped inside the house for more than an hour after settlers began throwing stones. He showed a bandaged arm, which he said was injured by a stone during the attack. Oday, who works as a medic, said four people inside the house were injured by tear gas, while two others suffered injuries from stones thrown by settlers. The latest incident occurred a short distance from three Palestinian homes that came under a settler siege earlier this month. That episode prompted international criticism and a major deployment of Israeli military forces in the area. Loui Ridi, a Palestinian-American whose home was among those previously besieged, said he witnessed Saturday’s attack. He said settlers had been making near-daily incursions into the area despite the heavy Israeli military presence. Rights groups have warned that increasing settler activity around Palestinian villages such as Qusra is part of a broader effort to expand control over Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.Israeli settler violence in the West Bank has increased in recent years, while the Israeli government has overseen significant settlement expansion in the territory. The Israeli military said it would continue operating in Qusra and neighbouring Jalud to prevent further disturbances and restore order. The United Nations and most countries consider Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank illegal under international law. Israel rejects that position and considers the territory disputed.