Israeli settlers storm Palestinian village, seizing home with owner inside
Settlers Storm West Bank Village, Seize Home While Owner Remains Inside
Qwenews.com – In one of the most brazen displays of settler aggression recorded in the occupied West Bank this year, a large group of Israeli settlers descended on the Palestinian village of Qusra on Saturday afternoon, surrounded a private residence, hurled stones at its walls, and ultimately took possession of the home while its owner and six other occupants were still trapped within. By Sunday evening, no arrests had been announced despite the scale of the intrusion.
The Raid on Louay Adli's Home
Louay Adli, the homeowner, described how the settlers arrived early in the afternoon and immediately began pelting his house with rocks. As he reached for his phone to call Israeli police, the crowd around the building swelled to what he estimated at 60 or 70 people.
"They surrounded us from all sides and threw stones at all of us. This went on for a whole hour until the army came from in front of the house, while the settlers were from behind."
Adli said the soldiers arrived but took no immediate action to disperse the crowd. Footage captured at the scene appears to show settlers hurling rocks at one side of the building while soldiers operated on the opposite side. After roughly an hour of sustained stone-throwing, the military deployed tear gas directly into the home.
"We ran to the roof because we could not breathe inside. We were suffocating and the army had us trapped with the settlers."
Adli said Israeli security forces subsequently detained him, blindfolded him, and warned him not to return to his own property.
Military Account and the Absence of Arrests
The Israel Defense Forces, in a joint statement issued alongside border police, acknowledged that "dozens of rioters" had barricaded themselves inside the Palestinian home while residents were also present. The forces said they "dispersed using various means" and described their response as "proportionate force" directed at a Palestinian they accused of resisting and throwing stones. Yet the statement offered no explanation for why the dozens of settlers inside the home were permitted to depart without being detained.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in a separate statement that authorities had seized three vehicles used during the raid. The IDF added that security forces were working "to locate those involved and hold them accountable in accordance with the law." A police spokesman told reporters the investigation remained open and that additional evidence was being gathered. As of Sunday afternoon, however, no arrests had been made public.
Political Reactions
President Isaac Herzog condemned the episode in unusually pointed language, calling it a "direct and flagrant defiance of the laws and values of the State of Israel." He placed the incident within what he described as "a disturbing sequence of events that casts a stain on Israel's image and demands firm and decisive action."
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee labeled the settler violence a "horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass," a characterization that underscored the diplomatic discomfort the episode generated in Washington.
A Pattern Around Qusra
The Saturday raid was not an isolated episode. In recent months, settlers have repeatedly besieged Qusra, ignoring official orders to vacate the area and attempting to pressure Palestinian families into abandoning their homes. Some of those families hold American citizenship, a fact that has drawn additional diplomatic attention. Ayed Jafry, a Palestinian activist who works in the villages surrounding Nablus, including Qusra and Jalud, described the area as under constant threat from settler incursions. He said the military frequently operates in coordination with the settlers rather than intervening to stop them.
"The villages surrounding the city of Nablus are being targeted, specifically in these areas."
Press Crew Attacked in Nearby Jalud
In a separate Saturday incident in the West Bank town of Jalud, masked settlers assaulted an NBC News crew that was interviewing a Palestinian woman named Aida Ahmed Abdullah. Abdullah told the crew her family had been forced out of their home by settlers. While the interview was underway, masked men drove up to the team and attacked them with sticks.
"They jumped out, beat us, then jumped back in the car,"
correspondent Matt Bradley recounted. He was treated at a nearby clinic afterward. The Foreign Press Association issued a statement condemning the assault and calling for a formal investigation, noting: "This is not an isolated incident — it is part of a recurring pattern of violence against members of the press and Palestinian civilians."
Settlement Context
More than 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The vast majority of the international community regards those settlements as illegal under international law, a position Israel has long contested. The current right-wing government has made settlement expansion a central pillar of its agenda, advancing plans for thousands of new housing units and approving scores of new settlement projects across the territory. Analysts note that the frequency and audacity of settler incursions into Palestinian villages have escalated sharply under this administration, raising questions about whether existing enforcement mechanisms are being applied at all, or whether the political environment now effectively emboldens those who carry out such raids.
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