Palestinians, along with foreign and left-wing Israeli activists, held a protest on Friday in the occupied West Bank town of Qusra before heading towards three Palestinian homes that have been besieged by illegal Israeli settlers for five consecutive days.
The protesters gathered in the Ras al-Ain area of Qusra, south of Nablus, before moving towards the besieged homes to check on the residents and deliver essential supplies, an Anadolu correspondent reported.
Israeli troops prevented the activists from entering the homes, claiming the area was a “closed military zone.”
The protesters, however, managed to deliver food, water and other essential supplies to the residents.
Earlier, illegal Israeli settlers re-erected a tent outside the homes of three Palestinian families in the Ras al-Ain area as the siege entered its fifth consecutive day.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that the settlers put the tent back up outside the Palestinian homes before Israeli troops arrived and dismantled it.
Homes turned into military barracks
The illegal settlers, however, continued to besiege the homes and restrict the residents’ movement, the witnesses said.
Israeli forces also remained deployed around the area, with military vehicles and soldiers continuing to enter and leave Qusra.
The developments came a day after hundreds of Israeli soldiers raided the town.
Abdul Azim Wadi, head of the town council, told Anadolu on Thursday that Israeli forces had seized 16 Palestinian homes and converted them into military barracks.
The army also evacuated residents from several homes, including families who had already been besieged by settlers, he added.
Eyewitnesses said Israeli troops withdrew on Friday morning from the Palestinian homes they had seized the previous day.
Blocking roads
The three families in Ras al-Ain have been under siege by dozens of illegal Israeli settlers since Sunday.
The illegal Israeli settlers erected a tent and other temporary structures and blocked roads leading to the homes, while obstructing deliveries of food, water and medicine and cutting water and electricity lines, according to Palestinian accounts.
Local reports indicate that illegal settlers began attempts to seize the homes around four months ago.
The families fear the siege is intended to force them to leave, allowing the settlers to take over their properties.
Attacks by illegal Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property have intensified across the occupied West Bank since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, prompting Palestinian and international warnings over the growing seizure of land and homes and the displacement of residents.
