As settler siege continues, Israel advances de facto West Bank annexation

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz has ordered the military to transfer responsibility for civilian law enforcement in Qusra to the police. This move comes amid mounting criticism over the ongoing six-day siege by violent settlers against Palestinian families in the West Bank. Katz argues that the military's role is to combat Palestinian terrorism, not to deal with the so-called "hilltop youth" – a term used to describe the violent settlers.

This action aligns with a broader government strategy to de facto annex the West Bank by embedding Israeli law in the region. Palestinian Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh strongly condemned the transfer of enforcement powers, calling it a "flagrant violation of international law" and a new attempt to entrench the annexation of Palestinian land.

Under Israeli occupation, the territory has typically been governed by military law, as per the 1954 Hague Convention and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibit an occupying power from exercising sovereign rights over occupied territory. The police, too, are under the control of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a convicted criminal and radical settler.

The military is currently assessing the situation in Qusra, where residents remain under siege. The military has confiscated some material belonging to the attacking settlers, who continue to return when the army withdraws. Soldiers have also been captured on camera praying with the settlers.

The siege has led to food shortages and terrorised children, prompting rare criticism from US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, who called the perpetrators "Israeli terrorists" on Thursday. However, he later rallied support for the settlement project, claiming that settlers are "not the problem" in the West Bank, but rather a "very small minority who do great damage to Palestinian families and to Israel."

Criticism is also growing inside Israel over the military's inability to break the siege. Far-left politician Ofer Cassif claimed that forces prevented him from reaching Qusra on Friday, as besieged families were being denied essential supplies and medicine. His party, Hadash-Ta'al, described the situation as "exactly what apartheid looks like" and "exactly what occupation looks like."

Military correspondent Itay Blumenthal for Israeli broadcaster Kan described the situation as "truly unbelievable," noting that "Jewish rioters" re-established a tent in the same spot despite the military's deployment of an additional battalion and Border Guard reinforcement.