West Bank Palestinians await supplies amid settler siege

Activists tried to deliver supplies on Friday to Palestinians cut off by an almost week-long settler siege at Qusra near Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

Residents said rogue Israeli settlers began blockading Palestinian homes on Sunday and had cut them off from food and other supplies. An AFP journalist saw settlers at the site early Friday, but they appeared to have dispersed from the immediate area later in the morning.

A few dozen activists marched toward the blockaded houses carrying a Palestinian flag, signs reading “Justice for All” and donations including water, drinks and snacks. The supplies were dropped near the gates of one house where armed Israeli security forces were stationed.

The Israeli military said it would check the supplies before allowing them into the house. Residents could be seen looking down from a balcony.

Against the backdrop of the Qusra siege, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to prepare a plan to transfer enforcement of civilian matters involving West Bank settlers to Israeli police. If implemented, the measure would be a step toward Israeli annexation of the Palestinian territory.

Katz’s office said the military’s role was to fight Palestinian terrorism and defend borders and communities, and that responsibility for civil enforcement and law and order would be transferred to police. Israeli media reported that such a transfer would be unlikely before national elections scheduled for October 27.

The Israeli military said on Thursday that troops had been deployed in Qusra “to protect the residents and maintain security in the area.” US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticised the siege, saying there was “no excuse for such thuggish behaviour.” One of the besieged homes is owned by a US citizen.