Israeli settlers have pitched tents near Ramallah in Wadi Zeytun and begun another encampment near Burqa, potentially increasing the number of outposts around two villages to six. A separate siege in Qusra has left 15 Palestinians, including two children, trapped in their homes for a second week. Reported attacks across the West Bank included arrests and blocked medical access; the UN special rapporteur and Palestinian leaders accused Israeli authorities of enabling settler coercion and warned of possible war crimes and forcible displacement.
Settlers Erect Tents Near Ramallah as Qusra Remains Besieged — UN Rapporteur, Palestinian Leaders Sound Alarm
An Israeli soldier stands near a Palestinian home besieged by Israeli settlers in the village of Qusra, south of the city of Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank [File: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP]
Israeli settlers have pitched tents near Ramallah in an apparent attempt to establish a new illegal outpost, while separate settler groups have maintained a week-long siege of the village of Qusra, Al Jazeera reporters say. Multiple incidents across the West Bank on Sunday included attacks on homes, arrests and obstacles to medical access.
New Encampments Near Umm Safa and Burqa
According to Al Jazeera's Tharwat Shakra, settlers set up tents on Sunday in the Wadi Zeytun area near the village of Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah, and began establishing a separate outpost close to the village of Burqa. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that, if those tents become permanent, the number of outposts surrounding the two neighbouring villages would rise to six.
Wafa and reporters said settlers have appropriated roughly 4,700 of Umm Safa’s 4,800 dunams (about 470 of 480 hectares, or roughly 1,160 of 1,186 acres) and about 10,000 of Burqa’s 12,000 dunams (approximately 1,000 of 1,200 hectares, or about 2,471 of 2,965 acres).
Siege In Qusra And Local Incidents
In Ras al-Ain, in the village of Qusra south of Nablus, a settler siege entered a second week with some 15 Palestinians — including two children — effectively trapped inside three homes, Shakra reported. Israeli soldiers rotated their positions near the homes; reporters said troops dismantled a tent settlers tried to put up and later erected another tent in front of the residences. Municipal crews restored electricity and water to the besieged families, according to the same report.
Al Jazeera correspondents in the West Bank also reported that settlers attacked a Palestinian house in Beit Imrin (north of Nablus), detaining those inside. Israeli forces then arrived, arrested nine people from the residence, and subsequently withdrew. Reporters said soldiers blocked Palestinian Red Crescent teams from reaching the scene and confiscated keys to ambulances and medical-relief vehicles.
Additional incidents were reported in the Nab'a al-Kaabneh community near Taybeh and an attempted raid in Turmus Aya (both in the Ramallah district). Attacks in Hebron’s al-Jaabari neighbourhood reportedly left Palestinians injured, including from gunfire, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Arrests And Institutional Warnings
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces have stepped up arrests in towns where illegal settler outposts have been set up, focusing on residents who confront or resist attacks by settlers.
International And Palestinian Leaders' Reactions
“Israel has outsourced coercion to the settlers and is using them to advance ethnic cleansing,” Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, told Al Jazeera. “This is a crime… This is utter terrorism; these settlers should be investigated and prosecuted.”
Albanese characterized the current pattern of settler violence and the siege in Qusra as the culmination of what she described as a long-standing rule of impunity and warned that methods she attributed to Israeli policy included potential war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, described the situation in the West Bank as "extremely dangerous," telling Al Jazeera that settler groups are carrying out what he called an "average of 30 attacks every day" as part of a campaign he said aims at annexation and displacement. He urged Arab states and the international community to pressure Washington to curb Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
Context And Legal Status
Wafa reported that Israeli operations in the West Bank have intensified since Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in October 2023. According to that reporting, about 750,000 Israeli settlers now live in some 156 settlements and roughly 360 outposts across the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.
The United Nations considers Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory illegal under international law. The allegations and legal characterisations above reflect statements by UN officials, Palestinian leaders and regional news agencies cited in reporting.
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