Israeli Checkpoints Cement Palestinian Encirclement in West Bank Village of Qusra

Following weeks of settler intimidation, the installation of three new gates around Palestinian properties in Qusra deepens fears for families trapped inside their homes.

Qusra, occupied West Bank – Upon Israel’s installation of three new roadblocks at the Ras al-Ain hill in the northern West Bank village of Qusra on Wednesday, Abdel Hakim Wadi realized his access to his land below was permanently lost.

The roadblocks, consisting of large yellow and orange metal bars mounted on concrete blocks, are a common sight across the West Bank. Their numbers have surged since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, and the Israeli forces remain the sole custodians of the keys.

Israeli soldiers had previously positioned a gate at the main entrance of Qusra, compelling Palestinians to seek alternative routes that frequently ended up closed as well.

Since August 9, three homes in this section of Qusra have been besieged by Israeli settlers, drawing international condemnation. Although Israeli forces designated the area a closed military zone, the siege effectively continued, leaving residents trapped inside their homes. Rather than alleviating the situation, the newly erected roadblocks were strategically positioned to tighten the restriction.

“They are pushing the Israeli settlers 100 to 150 metres away from our homes, but now they have established checkpoints,” Wadi told Al Jazeera. “It is a much more permanent siege.”

Surrounding the hill

One of the barriers was placed at the entrance to the home of Loui Ridi, a Palestinian-American from Ohio who returned to Qusra to protect his property after the siege started. Israeli soldiers have stationed themselves outside his residence, which he has not been able to leave since arriving on August 17.

Another roadblock sits further up the hill near a house under construction, and a third is positioned to the left above another building site.

Collectively, the three barriers encircle the hilltop and the homes situated on it, cutting them off from the surrounding terrain. Furthermore, their presence renders a road traversing the hilltop useless. This road previously connected the rest of Qusra to Ras al-Ain and linked the village to the neighboring communities of Talfit and Jalud.

Ridi stated that Israeli settlers remain in the vicinity of his home, and Israeli forces continue to restrict his family—which includes two young girls—as well as his neighbors from freely entering or leaving the area.

“We have been appealing to the US embassy and the international community to end the siege,” Ridi said.

Ridi previously noted that despite global condemnation of the Israeli settlers’ actions in Qusra—which included cutting off water and electricity to the besieged homes during their latest attack on a Palestinian community in the West Bank—very little has been accomplished.

“No one is doing enough on the ground,” he told Al Jazeera upon his arrival from the US. “They talk, but there is no action.”

No access to land

Wadi’s land, which he has been unable to reach since the siege began, is located near where one of the new Israeli gates was installed.

He told Al Jazeera that his nearly one-hectare plot is home to over 100 olive trees, along with almond and fig trees. Additionally, there is a water well that Israeli settlers have seized control of.

“I see them bathing in the water they are drawing from the well,” Wadi said.

Wadi now fears that the gates will permanently prevent him from accessing his land, even if Israeli authorities eventually lift the military zone designation.

He anticipates that Israel will maintain the siege under a different guise.

“They will stage a performance of ending the siege, but in reality, they are simply replacing the settlers with the army,” Wadi said.

Wadi asserts that Israel’s ultimate objective is to seize more land in the West Bank incrementally.

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