Israel sends troops into West Bank homes besieged by Jewish settlers

By Ali Sawafta

QUSRA, West Bank, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Israeli troops took up positions inside Palestinian homes in the West Bank village of Qusra on Thursday, the mayor said, after settlers trapped Palestinian families this week in a siege Palestinians say is aimed at forcing them from their land.

The siege began at the weekend when Jewish settlers closed off the road to the three homes in the Palestinian village of Qusra and set up a tent in their front yards, refusing to allow anyone to enter or leave. The settlers had earlier cut off their electricity and water.

Qusra mayor Abed Al Athem Wadi said that six homes in the village had been evacuated and taken over by Israeli soldiers, including the three hilltop besieged homes, with the two residing families gathered in one of the houses.

Reuters photos showed several Israeli soldiers standing outside one of the homes. The soldiers informed the families that operations in Qusra may last until Sunday, village residents said.

In a statement, the military said that soldiers had been deployed in Qusra since Thursday morning to protect residents and maintain security, and "were instructed that the Qusra residents will remain in their homes."

The military added that "soldiers will not operate inside the Palestinian family's home located near the site where the tent that was evacuated and dismantled had been erected". It was not immediately clear which of the three homes the military was referring to.

Earlier on Thursday, a day after troops deployed tear gas in a failed attempt to remove the settlers, it said it had sent more troops to the area "to carry out defensive missions and patrols in the area to maintain security and protect the area."

The United Nations said in a statement that some 15 Palestinians including two children were "being trapped inside their homes in a state of terror, unable to attend to their basic needs and without access to water or electricity."

Video from earlier in the week showed several Israeli men in green military garb joining the settlers in a morning prayer in the tent. The military said it was taking disciplinary action against any personnel involved.

BESIEGED FAMILIES APPEAL FOR HELP

The military has come under increasing pressure to halt ​rogue land seizures by settlers emboldened by the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin ⁠Netanyahu, which has spearheaded a rapid expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The two families under siege in the area say they have no food or medicine, and that the settlers have been damaging their property, throwing stones at their homes and shouting insulting language at them.

"We appeal to government institutions and to every free and honourable person to help us secure food and medicine," said Qusay Abu Reeda, a Palestinian trapped in one of the homes, which belongs to his brother, who lives in Ohio and holds U.S. citizenship.

He confirmed that the two families were gathered in one of the three homes.

The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said the Israeli military and police "have gone at our request to remove the Israeli terrorists doing this," adding: "The actions of those doing this to this family's home is criminal."

Palestinians say the Israeli military allows settlers to seize land and resources across the West Bank with impunity, including in areas where they hold Israel-issued ownership documents.

Incidents of settler land seizures are especially common in areas on the outskirts of villages, like Qusra, which sits in an area under complete Israeli security control.

The West Bank, territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, is home to some three million ⁠Palestinians and ​500,000 settlers. There are some 146 settlements in the West Bank, ​as well as 390 smaller outposts, according to the Israeli settlement watchdog group Peace Now.

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Ismael Khader in Qusra; editing by Rami Ayyub, William Maclean)