On August 9, Israeli settler gangs from the nearby outpost surrounded a Palestinian family's home on the outskirts of Qusra, south of Nablus, in Area B of the occupied West Bank, preventing the family from entering or leaving.

The targeted houses were a compound of two homes, including the two-story home of Yousef Hassan, a Palestinian-American, and his family, where they have lived for five years. The people trapped inside were Yousef Hassan, his wife, their two young daughters (aged 2 and 4), his mother, brother, sister, and three neighbors. A second Palestinian family in the area was also under siege. These houses had been targeted for months, on a daily basis, as the independent journalist Nathaniel Jasper reported six weeks before. The soldiers, when called, contributed to harassing residents by searching or arresting them instead of the perpetrators. Settlers engaged in nightly stone-throwing, obscene language, shouting, and attempts to break into the house. Hassan noted that while the harassment had gone on for seven months, it had escalated sharply in recent days.

This group of settlers is the one that besieged the Tabasi house in Jalud, on the other side of the mountain, and finally, with the help of the army, seized it and has continued to occupy it until now.

On Sunday, August 9, the Israeli settlers set up a makeshift tent/structure (a "sukkah") directly outside the entrance of Hassan's home, under the mother outpost of Tel Talpiot, on the nearby mountain, an illegal hamlet several times evacuated and destroyed by the Israeli army and several times rebuilt. Settlers cut off the electricity lines and water supply to the property, while Hassan managed to maintain limited device power using a solar panel. They blocked the road with rocks and prevented the family from reaching essentials such as food and clean water. They attempted to break into the houses and threw stones towards the windows.

The IDF enforced a Closed Military Zone order, originally issued in June, officially to protect the family but, on the ground, to block journalists and solidarity activists. While the order, on paper, prohibits anyone except Palestinian residents from entering the area, in practice, the settlers were permitted to move freely and remain at the site.

On Sunday, spatial defense soldiers arriving at the scene were filmed praying with the settlers, taking photos at the encampment, and completing a quorum (minyan) for evening prayers at the outpost.

On Monday, August 10, the family's food supplies were running low, and Hassan's two-year-old daughter developed a high fever and began vomiting. Activists, including AndreyX and Adele Shoko, tried to reach the house to provide food and medicine, but were stopped by the soldiers posted in the zone. When they came back in the evening with an ambulance in order to transfer the toddler and her mother to hospital and to bring food to the residents, they were violently assaulted by settlers on quads and in SUVs. This episode of terror ended with the arrest of Andrey by the army.

The Haaretz team, led by Matan Golan, trying to report on the event, was assaulted by settlers and prevented from reaching the house.

On Tuesday, the mother and her toddler were finally evacuated by ambulance. The grandfather, who was outside the house when the siege began, stayed for days in his car to watch over his family.

Human rights organizations, including Breaking the Silence, state that the army's enforcement of military zones and protection of settlers is crucial for maintaining the siege and facilitating the forced displacement of Palestinians.

Official Military Responses & Actions:

On Wednesday morning, Gen. Avi Bluth, the IDF regional commander, visited the site and promised Hassan that the settlers would be evacuated. A few reserve soldiers removed the settlers' tent but left their bedding and personal items. After clashes with settlers, troops withdrew, leaving the settlers at the site.

IDF Spokesperson Statements on August 10:

The IDF stated that commanders were "gravely concerned" about settler actions and that soldiers who supported them faced disciplinary action. It confirmed that the military was working with police to bring those responsible to justice, though no clear timeline was provided for lifting the siege.

Troop Redeployment:

On Wednesday evening, IDF Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir met with senior commanders and ordered an infantry reserve battalion back from leave to reinforce West Bank troops and maintain operational control.

Historical Violence in Qusra:

The current siege is taking place meters away from where 28-year-old Amir Moatasem Odeh was killed by a settler from the same violent outpost in March, and his father was stabbed. No arrests have been made for the attack, although six months of house arrest were ordered for one of the outpost's residents in connection with this murder.

Thread by Breaking the Silence:

"A Palestinian family is besieged by the IDF and settler terrorists in Qusra, in the West Bank. No one is allowed in or out: no food, no ambulances, no journalists. This is a new method for carrying out the same policy: forcing Palestinians off their land. Here’s how it works🧵

The Hassan family, including two daughters aged two and four, lives in the home. After 7 months of harassment, settlers erected a hut outside the house two days ago and blocked anyone from entering or leaving. They also cut the electricity and tried to break in.

What are the soldiers doing? They’re in Qusra, too, praying with the perpetrators. The IDF’s involvement is not limited to hanging around with the criminals at the literal scene of their crime. The army’s involvement is crucial for maintaining the siege.

The army’s there for settlers’ protection, and no less important, to make sure journalists, solidarity activists, and ambulances can’t reach the family. For this purpose, the IDF is exploiting a closed military zone order it issued in June. On paper, the order bars anyone but the Palestinian residents from entering the area. In practice, violent settlers are more than welcome, while an ambulance trying to treat Hassan’s daughter is turned away. The idea is simple: scare the family out, then the settlers will take over the house.

In July, that’s what they did in Jalud. Back then, settlers, too, besieged a family for two weeks while the IDF issued a closed military zone to keep journalists out. Eventually, the family fled, and the settlers took over. To facilitate ethnic cleansing, the army uses Closed Military Zone orders a lot. Amid terror attacks, it systematically uses them to force solidarity and protective-presence activists out while allowing terrorists into Palestinian villages or Palestinian olive groves during harvest season.

Violent settlers may do the “dirty work” of daily terror against Palestinian men, women, and children, but neither this terror nor ethnic cleansing would be possible without the army’s support. Village after village, house after house. It keeps happening because it is policy."