Israeli forces removed roughly a dozen settlers who had been besieging two Palestinian families in their West Bank homes on Thursday, though the settlers returned a few hours later.
The families had been confined inside their homes since Sunday, after Israeli settlers set up a tent nearby and, according to residents, assaulted them—including with rocks.
Early Thursday morning, Israeli soldiers dismantled the structures the settlers had erected, seized some equipment, detained a settler and ordered the remaining settlers to disperse, per a military statement.
The operation followed heightened media coverage, which revealed that one homeowner, Louai Abu Ridi, 46, holds American citizenship. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned the settlers and said the United States had urged Israel to intervene.
Mr. Huckabee, a long‑time supporter of the settler movement, called the actions “criminal,” adding that those who carried out the “horrific act of terror” aimed to intimidate and harass the family were “disgusting.”
Hours after the eviction concluded in the northern West Bank village of Qusra, at least nine settlers returned to the spot where they had been camped outside one of the homes, according to interviews with two residents and video footage examined by The New York Times.
Yousef Hassan, 30, who is confined with his brother and son, said, “We are still under siege. If the army is here to remove the settlers, why doesn’t it simply do so?”
He added that his family was running low on food and water.
The Israeli military did not promptly respond to a request for comment.
On the same day, Israeli forces also evicted settlers who had occupied another Palestinian home in the nearby village of Jalud, according to local residents, and those settlers returned shortly thereafter.
The military’s delayed response—waiting several days before evicting the settlers—highlights its struggle to curb settler violence, underscoring the growing chaos across the West Bank, where hundreds of Israeli settlers have terrorized Palestinian communities with near‑impunity throughout the year.
U.N. data released in late July indicated that extremist settlers carried out at least 1,380 attacks in 250 communities in 2026, and they have largely avoided any consequences for their violence.
Former senior Israeli officials who previously oversaw the West Bank now warn that the military is losing control of the territory and permitting settlers to act with impunity.
“The Israeli military has lost control of the West Bank,” said Guy Hazut, a reserve brigadier general who once commanded portions of the territory.
The settlers aim to drive Palestinians off their land, having displaced entire communities on multiple occasions over the past three years.
The families in Qusra have refused to abandon their homes despite ongoing attacks.
Aisha Hassan, 35, said she remains besieged in her home with her elderly mother on Thursday, adding, “We are very afraid, but we will not leave, even if it could get us killed.”
