Israeli security forces have ordered residents of roughly a dozen Palestinian homes in the West Bank village of Qusra to evacuate during a military operation aimed at removing Israeli settlers who had besieged three local houses since Sunday, according to local officials and residents.

Qusra Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi told the BBC that the village had been declared a closed military zone and that Israeli forces were using some of the vacated Palestinian homes as barracks. The Israeli military said its objective was "to protect the residents."

An Israeli government spokesman, David Mencer, described the settlers' actions as "deplorable" and "unacceptable," adding that authorities would investigate and prosecute those responsible. "The Israeli army is acting against it, and we are investigating it and we will arrest those responsible and we will prosecute them," he said.

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Residents of two of the three besieged homes, belonging to the Abu Ridi and Hassan families, were told to leave on Thursday, they told the BBC. Those evacuated moved into the third house. Elsewhere in the village, residents of 11 other homes were also ordered out.

Qaher Odeh, one of those forced to leave, described how more than 20 soldiers entered his home on Thursday morning. "I was asleep in the morning, my brother and I. They came in and broke down the door, shouting open up, open the door. Even now I still can't process what I saw in front of me. There was more than 20 of them, maybe 30," he said. After about 10 hours, some families were allowed back but found their homes ransacked; one man said soldiers had thrown food from the fridge and stolen $1,500 in cash.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had "dismantled two illegal outposts" and detained one Israeli, confiscating equipment near Qusra and Jalud. The IDF did not address the allegations of theft or damage, but stated that soldiers were instructed that Qusra residents would remain in their homes and that troops would not operate inside the besieged Palestinian home.

The situation began Sunday when settlers blocked roads to the families' homes and cut off power and water. Initial Israeli soldiers who arrived prayed with the settlers, an act for which the military later said they would be disciplined. On Wednesday, an attempt by security forces to dislodge the settlers led to confrontations, with footage showing tear gas and stun grenades used against a large settler crowd.

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, a longtime supporter of settlements, called the settler intimidation "a horrific act of terror" and said there was "no excuse for such thuggish behavior."

Qusra's mayor said residents had seen "a clear and sustained pattern of targeting Qusra," including a recent arson attack on a newly completed mosque. The UN reports that 76 Palestinians, including 18 children, have been killed in the West Bank this year by Israeli forces or settlers, and that 127 Palestinian communities have experienced full or partial displacement since January 2023.

At a UN meeting, Israel's Ambassador Danny Danon dismissed the idea that settlements were an obstacle to peace, asserting biblical, historic, and legal rights to the land and stating, "we are not going anywhere."

Source: BBC News