Israeli lawmaker Gilad Kariv criticized the Israeli army after settlers surrounded the home of a Palestinian family in the village of Kusra, in the northern occupied West Bank.
Kariv said the Israeli army had withdrawn from the area while the settlers continued to surround the home. He said no extremist settlers linked to the incident had been detained, despite it being clear that they had obstructed the army’s duties and violated its orders.
In a statement on the social media platform X, the Israeli lawmaker said, “The army forces have withdrawn. The settlers are still surrounding the home.”
The Israeli army announced on Wednesday that it had dismantled a settler outpost reportedly established around homes in the village. However, footage released later showed that the settlers remained in the area.
Kariv called on the Israeli army’s senior leadership not to reverse its decision to dismantle the settler outpost in Kusra and end the encirclement. He argued that such a reversal would strengthen nationalist violence by settlers in the occupied territories.
Calling on the army to end its policy of turning a blind eye to settler groups and reassert control over the area, Kariv said that he, his children and his grandchildren were not serving in the regular or reserve army so that they could be subjected to attacks with stones and sticks by Israelis acting unlawfully.
Footage shared by Kariv shows settlers placing stones on the road leading to the outpost they established, apparently attempting to prevent the army from reaching the area.
There are 156 settlements and 360 settler outposts in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Approximately 750,000 settlers live in the area, while settlers have carried out attacks aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians.
