Louai Abu Ridi, a Palestinian‑American who flew in from Ohio, raised the US flag outside his Qusra home after settlers besieged the property and blocked supplies for more than a week. He has appealed to the US Embassy to keep his case in the public eye and accuses Israeli soldiers of fraternising with settlers. The Israeli military said it ordered the settlers removed and detained one person, but settlers reportedly returned. US Ambassador Mike Huckabee issued rare, blunt criticism and called for consequences.
Palestinian‑American Raises US Flag Outside Home Besieged by Settlers in West Bank
US-Palestinian dual citizen Louai Abu Ridi (C), whose home in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra is besieged by Israeli settlers, shares an evening meal with family members at the home in Qusra (ilia YEFIMOVICH)
Louai Abu Ridi, a Palestinian‑American who returned from his home in Ohio, hoisted a US flag outside one of his houses in Qusra, near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, after Israeli settlers besieged the property and blocked food and supplies for more than a week.
Abu Ridi said he flew back on Monday after residents were sealed inside and has urged the US Embassy to keep publicising his case. He displayed the Stars and Stripes on Tuesday as a message to Americans and the international community.
"It's my message to all Americans in the United States to see what's going on here in the West Bank, how the settlers put us under siege trying to take my own house in the West Bank," Abu Ridi told AFP reporters.
Under pressure from Washington, the Israeli military announced it had ordered the settlers removed. Troops dismantled the settlers' tent and detained one Israeli, but Abu Ridi and neighbours report that settlers repeatedly returned on foot and by vehicle.
Abu Ridi accused soldiers of allowing settlers free access to his property and even greeting them. "The settlers come in freely into my house and they're not doing anything," he said, adding that troops "even shake hands with the settlers. It's like they're friends."
Rare US Criticism
Settler harassment and violence against Palestinians in the West Bank have risen in recent months, frequently aimed at seizing Palestinian land. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right‑wing government has promoted settlement policies ahead of closely contested elections on October 27.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee — an evangelical pastor who has historically supported the settler movement — issued unusually blunt criticism of the Qusra siege and said he had pressed Israeli authorities to intervene. In interviews broadcast on Israeli television, Huckabee called for "severe consequences" for those he described as engaging in "terrorist activity" and said the United States is committed to protecting its citizens.
About 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements considered illegal under international law, alongside roughly three million Palestinians. Israel has controlled the territory since the 1967 Six‑Day War.
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