Israel Deploys Troops to Break Settler Siege in West Bank Village

The Israeli military has deployed an additional infantry battalion to the West Bank village of Qusra to break a siege by Israeli settlers that has trapped Palestinian families in their homes for days. The deployment, ordered by Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, followed days of international condemnation and a failed initial attempt to remove the settlers.

The siege began on Sunday, August 9, when a group of Israeli settlers established a presence near three homes in Qusra, a village south of Nablus. The settlers blocked access roads, cut off water and electricity lines, and prevented food and medical supplies from reaching the residents. According to the United Nations, approximately 15 Palestinians, including two children, were trapped inside their homes in a state of terror.

Qusai Abu Reida, a Palestinian-American trapped inside one of the homes, said his family had no food or medicine and was relying on a temporary solar power system and leftover well water. "We appeal to government institutions and to every free and honorable person to help us secure food and medicine," he said. Another resident, Loui Ridi, the American-Palestinian owner of one targeted home,...