Settlers tighten the siege on Qasra.. Occupation forces prevent demonstrators from reaching the besieged homes

Israeli settlers tightened their siege on the Palestinian village of Qusra in the West Bank on Friday, in a new escalation that reinforces settler attacks on Palestinian areas for more than two weeks.

This comes under the watch of the Israeli occupation army, which provides security protection to the settlers, according to Iram News.

Channel 12 reported on Friday that “settlers erected a tent in the village of Qusra, in the Nablus district, amid the deployment of an additional Israeli army battalion to the area.”

Palestinian reports stated that Israeli occupation forces stationed around Qusra prevented press delegations from reaching areas where settlers are present.

The Palestinian News Agency reported that occupation forces prevented a number of solidarity activists from reaching three homes that have been under siege for about two weeks, where approximately 15 Palestinians, including two children, live in difficult humanitarian conditions, with continued denial of access to their basic needs.

Abd al-Azim Wadi, the mayor of Qusra, said that “occupation forces prevented solidarity activists from reaching the three homes, while settler gangs continue to besiege the families, blocking access to them and preventing the delivery of aid and basic necessities.”

He added that “occupation forces forcibly expelled Italian solidarity activists who had managed to reach the homes a few days ago, following settler attacks and the siege of the area.”

The families of Abd al-Salam and Abu Rida had issued an urgent appeal to international and humanitarian bodies to intervene to lift the siege, amid continuous settler attacks on the area for more than four months and their attempts to establish a settlement outpost there.