Israel/OPT: Siege of Palestinian Homes in Qusra Marks Escalation in Settler Violence
Amnesty International condemns the siege of Palestinian homes in Qusra by Israeli settlers, highlighting the relentless escalation of state-backed settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
The situation in Qusra is a stark example of the escalating violence faced by Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank. According to Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International's Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, the siege of three Palestinian families' homes by Israeli settlers is not an isolated incident, but rather part of a broader pattern of coordinated and strategic settler terror enabled by the State of Israel.
Background to the Conflict
The West Bank has been occupied by Israel since 1967, and the Oslo Accords have divided the territory into areas A, B, and C, with different levels of administrative and military control. The homes under siege in Qusra are located in Area B, which is supposedly under Palestinian administrative control and Israeli military control. However, the reality on the ground is that Israeli forces have allowed settlers to remain in close proximity to the Palestinian families' homes, despite violent attacks on the families and even on Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances trying to deliver aid.
The Human Cost of Settler Violence
The three families under siege have been threatened, harassed, and attacked by Israeli settlers for several months, and have been confined to their homes since Sunday 9 August. They are running out of food and lack access to basic necessities, including running water. The Israeli military has even forced two of the besieged families, as well as six neighboring families, to evacuate their homes for several hours, using them as military outposts. This has led to a situation where, as one resident put it, "instead of removing the attackers, the Israeli forces removed the attacked families, while allowing the settlers to stay all this time".
International Community's Response
Amnesty International is calling on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its actions and to stop treating such incidents as 'isolated'. The organization is also urging states to end any form of direct and indirect support for Israel's unlawful occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and its brutal system of apartheid, including its illegal settlement enterprise. This includes banning trade and investment that contribute to the maintenance of Israeli settlements, as well as ending any cooperation and assistance to entities and individuals involved in the settlement enterprise. States should also impose targeted sanctions on senior Israeli officials allegedly responsible for international crimes, including the crimes against humanity of apartheid, and forcible transfer of Palestinians in the unlawfully occupied West Bank.
The situation in Qusra is a clear example of the need for the international community to take action to protect Palestinian communities at risk of displacement and to secure the return of forcibly displaced Palestinians to their homes. Failure to act would further embolden Israel and state-backed Israeli settlers to continue their unlawful and violent actions against Palestinians, who are left unprotected and without any recourse to justice.
