Israeli settlers stage new attack on home in West Bank

Dozens of masked Israeli settlers have launched a new attack on homes in the West Bank village of Qusra, marking the first major assault since a previous siege drew global criticism. The militants surrounded a Palestinian residence, hurling stones while trapping seven Palestinians inside, according to eyewitnesses. Saddam Oday, one of the trapped individuals, recounted that Israeli forces deployed tear gas into the home and detained the residents inside, while allowing the settlers to depart.

The trapped home's owner, Luay Bayruti, alleged that upon arriving, the military forcibly handcuffed, blindfolded, and assaulted the individuals inside before eventually releasing them. The Israeli military, however, maintained that troops and border police were dispatched to quell a group of "rioters" and safeguard those inside the house.

Neither the military nor its statement addressed why tear gas was allegedly used and why the residents were detained and beaten. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his initial public remarks on Qusra, denounced the violence and attributed it to a "handful of rioters." The United States had previously urged Netanyahu to publicly condemn the aggressive settlers who had besieged Palestinians in their homes two weeks prior.

The Israeli government had previously labeled a "fringe minority" as the perpetrators of such settler violence, a claim disputed by human rights organizations. A UN inquiry in June concluded that Israeli authorities are directly involved in settler attacks that have resulted in the deaths, injuries, and displacement of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli delegation in Geneva disputed the report's findings. Bayruti recounted his injury from a stone thrown by a settler while seeking refuge in the house. Oday, a medic, reported that four of those confined suffered injuries due to tear gas, and two sustained injuries from the stones hurled by the settlers. The assault took place near three homes that settlers had previously laid siege to this month, eliciting international condemnation and a significant Israeli military presence that effectively confined residents to their homes.

Local Palestinian-American Loui Ridi, whose property was among the three under siege, witnessed the attack from his residence. He observed frequent intrusions by Israeli settlers in the area surrounding his home, despite the heavy military presence in the vicinity. Rights groups contend that the escalating settler presence near Palestinian villages like Qusra is part of a broader campaign by settlers to appropriate more land from Palestinians, encroaching on territory where Palestinians aspire to establish a state.

Israeli settlers' violence in the occupied West Bank has intensified, with some encouraged by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which has witnessed a substantial expansion of settlements in the territory. UN bodies and the majority of nations deem these settlements unlawful under international law governing military occupations.