Historian Vincent Lemire: 'In the West Bank, the inaction of Western governments allows violence to be unleashed'

Loui Ridi, a Palestinian-American man, made headlines after he flew to the West Bank to save his family home from Israeli settlers. Ridi, who grew up in the village of Qusra, watched in horror as Israeli settlers laid siege to his house in the Israeli-occupied West Bank for over a week.

The settlers have a history of illegally seizing Palestinian homes in the West Bank, but the attacks have intensified in recent years under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu has vowed to establish new settler outposts and legalize more existing ones, despite international law declaring these settlements to be illegal.

After a week of watching the siege unfold from his home in Ohio, Ridi decided to travel to Tel Aviv and board a flight to Qusra. Upon arriving in Tel Aviv, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee publicly referred to the settlers as "terrorists" in a strong rebuke of their actions. Israeli troops were present in the area ostensibly to maintain peace, but the settlers remained in place and the Palestinians were too afraid to leave their homes.

Ridi's brother Qusay and a nephew have been staying in the home, along with 15 other Palestinians, including two children, who have been trapped inside the Qusra homes without access to running water or electricity. The U.N. has documented over 1,500 Palestinians killed in the West Bank since 2017, many of them by settlers or Israeli security forces.

After arriving in Qusra, Ridi raised an American flag on the roof of his family home, declaring that the settlers should not be there. Despite the worsening settler violence, Ridi plans to sit with his brother and catch up on their wellbeing.