Israeli paramilitary colonizers on Friday renewed their siege of three Palestinian families in Ras Al-Ein, Qusra, southeast of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, as the standoff entered its fifth day amid an ongoing Israeli military presence.
Witnesses said colonizers reinstalled a tent outside the families’ homes on Friday before Israeli occupation forces dismantled it, repeating an incident from Thursday.
Despite the tent’s removal, colonizers continued to restrict the families’ movement, local residents said. Witnesses added that Israeli forces and military vehicles remained active in and around Qusra.
Settlers rebuild the tent in front of residents’ homes, which remain under siege in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus. pic.twitter.com/jTWzvtLYrN
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) August 14, 2026
The developments came one day after hundreds of Israeli soldiers invaded Qusra. Local officials said occupation authorities informed the village council that the operation would continue until Sunday morning, stating that its purpose was to dismantle a colonial outpost established in the area.
Watch: in Qusra, families are trapped in their homes under an ongoing settler siege, while others have been forced out and are unable to return. The army and police have made little effort to evict the settlers, instead taking over some houses themselves.@OrenZiv_ pic.twitter.com/Luz575Je9b
— +972 Magazine (@972mag) August 14, 2026
On Thursday, Israeli occupation forces seized 16 Palestinian homes in Qusra and converted them into military barracks. Witnesses said the soldiers withdrew on Friday morning after occupying the homes overnight.
The three Palestinian families in Ras Al-Ein have been under siege since Sunday, when dozens of colonizers erected tents and structures, blocked access to the homes and deliveries of food, water, and medicine, and cut water and electricity lines.
Settlers rebuild the tent in front of residents’ homes, which remain under siege in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus. pic.twitter.com/jTWzvtLYrN
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) August 14, 2026
Local reports indicate that colonizers began attempting to seize the homes approximately four months ago. The families fear the continued siege is intended to force them from their properties and enable colonizers to take over the homes.
On August 13, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) called on Israeli authorities to protect the families in Qusra, warning that the colonizers’ actions were “clearly aimed at forcing them to leave their homes and their land” and that “time is running out” before they face forcible displacement.
The incident comes amid escalating colonizer violence across the occupied West Bank. In an August 11 briefing to the UN Security Council, UN Deputy Special Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov warned that “the West Bank is at the breaking point” and that such violence had reached “unprecedented levels.”
Israeli occupation forces blocked dozens of peace activists from the Israeli human rights organization Peace Now from reaching the Palestinian homes under ongoing Israeli military siege in the town of Qusra, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. pic.twitter.com/IwhQHYHgmx
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 14, 2026
Alakbarov said the United Nations documented more than 1,430 colonizer incidents involving casualties, property damage, or both in 2026, affecting approximately 260 Palestinian communities.
On August 14, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported 38 colonizer attacks involving casualties, property damage, or both in a single week. OCHA said colonizer violence, demolitions, and movement restrictions continued to displace Palestinians and undermine livelihoods across the occupied West Bank.
Sources:
- UN News: Occupied West Bank: Settler siege of Palestinians marks a new low
- United Nations in Palestine: West Bank Is at the Breaking Point
- OCHA Humanitarian Situation Report, 14 August 2026
- UN Security Council Briefing by Ramiz Alakbarov
- OCHA Humanitarian Situation Report, 7 August 2026
