Activists deliver aid to Palestinians in homes besieged by Israeli settlers

Activists have tried to delivered supplies to Palestinians whose homes in the occupied West Bank have been besieged for days by Israeli settlers.

The group left water and food near one of the houses in Qusra where two Palestinian families have been trapped since Sunday, with their power and water supplies cut off.

Two of the residents said Israeli forces had prevented the activists from delivering the aid directly to them, and the supplies had to be left outside. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied this.

Also on Friday, a number of settlers returned to set up a tent near the site – a day after an operation to disperse them from the area. It was later removed by Israeli forces.

The IDF said Qusra was a “closed military zone” and so Israeli civilians – who were among the activists – could not enter the area.

“But they weren’t prevented from transferring aid to the Palestinian homes in Qusra.”

It said in a further statement that Israeli civilians had erected a tent in the Qusra area earlier on Friday, “and IDF soldiers operated to remove it while protecting the local residents”.

About a dozen Palestinian households were told to leave their properties during the operation to disperse settlers on Thursday, including members of the Abu Ridi and Hassan families living in two of their three besieged homes.

Qusra Mayor Abdul Azim Wadi told the BBC that Israeli forces were using some of the vacated Palestinian houses as barracks.

The Israeli military said the aim was “to protect the residents” and soldiers had been “instructed that the Qusra residents will remain in their homes”.

A spokesperson had previously described the settlers’ actions as “deplorable” and “unacceptable”, adding that the government would investigate and arrest those responsible.