3 days ago
Netanyahu Condemns Settler Attack as Qusra Residents Report Abuse
Dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked homes near the Palestinian village of Qusra.
Witnesses said the settlers threw stones at a house where seven Palestinians were inside.
The people inside said they were trapped for more than an hour.
One resident said several people were hurt by tear gas and stones.
Residents also said Israeli forces fired tear gas into the house and detained or beat people there.
The Israeli military said its troops came to remove rioters, protect the residents and restore order.
Israeli officials, including Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned the attack in one report.
However, another report said Netanyahu had not commented at that time.
The attack followed an earlier settler siege near Qusra that had caused international criticism.
Dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked homes in Qusra and reportedly threw stones at Palestinians.
Seven Palestinians were trapped inside a house for more than an hour, witnesses said.
Residents alleged that Israeli forces fired tear gas, detained, handcuffed, blindfolded and beat people inside.
The Israeli military said troops and border police removed rioters, separated the groups and protected residents.
Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials condemned the violence, although Reuters reported that Netanyahu had not commented.
- Who
- Dozens of Israeli settlers, Palestinian residents of Qusra, Israeli troops and border police; Israeli officials also responded.
- What
- Settlers attacked homes and surrounded a Palestinian house, while residents reported injuries, tear gas and detentions.
- Where
- Qusra and nearby Jalud in the occupied West Bank, near Nablus.
- When
- Saturday, August 29, after an earlier settler siege in August.
- Why
- Witnesses said settlers attacked after seeing Palestinians working on a house; rights groups described the incident as part of increasing efforts to expand settler presence and seize land.
Palestinian Residents and Rights Groups
Israeli Authorities and Settler Position
Account of the attack
Palestinian Residents and Rights Groups
Residents and witnesses said settlers surrounded a home, threw stones and trapped seven Palestinians inside.
Israeli Authorities and Settler Position
The Israeli military described the attackers as rioters and said its forces intervened to remove them, separate the groups and restore order.
Treatment by Israeli forces
Palestinian Residents and Rights Groups
Residents alleged that soldiers fired tear gas into the home and handcuffed, blindfolded, beat or detained people inside.
Israeli Authorities and Settler Position
The military said it came to protect the residents but did not immediately respond to the allegations about tear gas, detentions or beatings.
Settlements and land
Palestinian Residents and Rights Groups
Rights groups said expanding settler activity around Palestinian villages is part of efforts to seize more Palestinian land.
Israeli Authorities and Settler Position
Israel rejects the view that West Bank settlements are illegal under international law and considers the territory disputed rather than occupied.
Political response
Palestinian Residents and Rights Groups
Israeli officials' condemnation was seen as a response to violence that residents and witnesses said continued despite a military presence.
Israeli Authorities and Settler Position
One report quoted Netanyahu condemning the attackers as law-violating rioters, while Reuters separately reported that he had not commented.
Key facts
- Location
- Qusra and nearby Jalud, occupied West Bank
- Reported attackers
- Dozens of masked Israeli settlers
- People trapped
- Seven Palestinians, according to witnesses
- Reported injuries
- Four people reportedly injured by tear gas and two by stones; one resident showed a bandaged arm
- Israeli military account
- Troops and border police said they removed rioters, separated the groups, confiscated suspected vehicles and protected residents
- Israeli official response
- Benjamin Netanyahu, Isaac Herzog and Israel's foreign ministry condemned the violence in one report
- Broader context
- The attack followed an earlier siege of three Palestinian homes and occurred amid reports of rising settler violence
Quotes
Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister of Israel
“I strongly condemn the criminal acts of violence committed in the villages of Qusra and Jalud by a handful of rioters who are violating the law, causing a grave injustice to the law-abiding Jewish community, interfering with the IDF in carrying out its missions, and harming Israel's standing in the world.”
NDTV
“Upon their arrival, the security forces identified dozens of rioters who had barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian home while Palestinian residents were inside,”
NDTV
Loui Ridi
A Palestinian-American resident of Qusra whose home was previously besieged by settlers
“They spotted the residents working on their house, which is still under construction and they started throwing rocks.”
theprint.in
Sources
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