Efforts to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank who have been confined to their homes by Israeli settlers continue amid conflicting reports.
A humanitarian organization recently distributed essential supplies near one of the affected households in Qusra, where two Palestinian families have endured weeks without access to utilities, including water and electricity, since Sunday.
Residents claim Israeli security forces blocked direct delivery of aid, forcing the group to leave supplies outside their homes. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has rejected these allegations.
On Friday, a group of settlers reestablished a temporary encampment near the location, following a Tuesday military operation aimed at dispersing them. Israeli authorities later removed the tent.
The IDF argues the Qusra area constitutes a “closed military zone,” restricting both Israeli civilians and foreign activists from entering. However, they assert that aid deliveries were permitted under supervision.
The military also stated that soldiers removed the activists’ encampment while ensuring the safety of local Palestinian residents.
Earlier operations resulted in approximately a dozen Palestinian families being ordered to vacate their properties, including members of the Abu Ridi and Hassan families who occupy two of their three homes in the besieged area.
Qusra Mayor Abdul Azim Wadi informed the BBC that Israeli forces have occupied some of the abandoned homes as temporary barracks.
Despite the displacement orders, the IDF maintains its objective was to ensure resident safety and claims personnel were instructed to permit residents to remain in their dwellings.
Following earlier condemnation of settler behavior as “unacceptable,” the Israeli government has pledged to conduct investigations and prosecute individuals involved in the incidents.
