Palestinian-American raises US flag at besieged home

Palestinian-American homeowner Louai Abu Ridi raised a US flag outside his house in Qusra, near Nablus, after returning from Ohio to a property that residents say Israeli settlers have besieged for more than a week.

Abu Ridi owns one of three houses affected in the occupied West Bank village. He flew back on Monday and was at the house on Tuesday. He said he had asked the US embassy to keep pursuing his case and said settlers had blocked food and other supplies while trying to take his home.

His brother, Qusai Abu Ridi, previously said Louai Abu Ridi reached the house on Monday with journalists. Residents had said settlers were trapping people inside while Israeli forces were stationed nearby.

The Israeli military said last week, under US pressure, that it had ordered the settlers removed. Troops dismantled a tent and detained one Israeli, but settlers repeatedly returned on foot or in vehicles.

Abu Ridi accused soldiers of failing to stop the settlers, saying they came freely into his house and that soldiers shook hands with them.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who has long supported settlers, has criticised the Qusra siege and said he had asked Israel to intervene. In Israeli television interviews aired late Tuesday, Huckabee said the United States was committed to defending its citizens and wanted “severe consequences” for people involved in what he called “terrorist activity”.

About 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements considered illegal under international law, alongside about three million Palestinians. Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.