Israeli settlers' siege of Palestinian homes draws sharp US rebuke

Qusra, a town in the West Bank, witnessed a five-night siege by Israeli settlers against three Palestinian homes, depriving the families of safe exit and their basic necessities. One family, Qusai Abu Rida and his teenage son, found themselves trapped inside as settlers severed their access to water and electricity. They resorted to drinking well water to survive.

Their Palestinian American brother in Ohio, who owned the house, witnessed the ordeal through surveillance and urged for updates. This incident is part of a series of escalating settler aggression in the occupied West Bank, a territory seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East conflict, which is intended to form the core of a future Palestinian state.

On Thursday, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee labeled the settlers as "terrorists," a term typically reserved for Palestinian militants, a significant rebuke from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has shown unprecedented backing for Israeli settlement activities.