West Bank settler siege persists despite Israeli troops

A settler blockade of Palestinian homes in Qusra near Nablus has persisted for more than a week despite repeated Israeli military deployments, drawing renewed scrutiny of how Israeli forces respond to settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

Settlers began blocking supplies to Palestinians in the village more than a week ago. The United States said it had requested action by Israel because one of the besieged Palestinians is a US citizen.

Israeli troops have been sent to the area several times. Authorities detained one Israeli and dismantled settlers' tents, but the settlers were not forced out. Some soldiers who first arrived were filmed praying with the settlers, and the military later promised disciplinary action.

By Monday, settlers on quadbikes were back at the site, shaking hands and chatting with Israeli forces, according to videos shared with AFP by a besieged resident.

The Israeli military said the main body responsible for handling violations by Israeli citizens in the West Bank is the police. It said soldiers are instructed to stop violations and delay or detain suspects until police arrive, and that incidents in which soldiers fail to follow orders are reviewed and can lead to disciplinary action.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has called for police to take over West Bank law enforcement, saying it is not soldiers' responsibility to "chase" violent settlers. His office earlier instructed the military to prepare a plan to transfer enforcement powers over civil matters involving Israeli settlers to the Israel Police.

Nimrod Novik, a senior adviser and special envoy to former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres, said government support for extremist settlers puts the military in an "impossible situation" between its professional duty and government policy.

Nadav Weiman, a former sniper who heads the Israeli veterans' advocacy group Breaking the Silence, said soldiers are often told little about how to enforce the law on violent settlers and are commonly told to refer cases to police because settlers are Israeli citizens.

Rights group Yesh Din said around 7,000 settlers were armed and mobilised into regional defence units during the first months of the war after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. It said some reservists were more likely to fail to stop settler attacks or to participate themselves.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements there among about three million Palestinians. Settlements in the territory are illegal under international law.