Three Palestinian families living in the village of Qusra, north of Nablus, have been trapped for three days after around 200 Israeli settlers blocked the road leading to their homes.
Yusuf Abd al-Salam, a member of one of the families, said settlers had gathered around the homes and blocked the road with rocks. Abd al-Salam said his brother, his parents and a relative's family were trapped in their homes.
Access to food and basic necessities cut off
Abd al-Salam said his family of four and the other families had been unable to obtain food and basic necessities for three days. He said settlers had set up a tent on the road leading to the homes, cutting the families off from other parts of Qusra.
Abd al-Salam said the Palestinian families could not reach other parts of the village to meet their needs, adding that the ongoing blockade posed a threat to the families.
Road blocked with rocks after tent was removed
Abd al-Salam said the Israeli army removed one of the tents during the night. However, around 200 settlers later arrived in the area and blocked the road again with rocks.
Following this development, the families began to fear that their homes could be attacked or raided. Abd al-Salam said the settlers wanted to drive them from their homes and seize the properties.
Infrastructure also damaged in Qusra
In recent months, settler attacks targeting Palestinians, homes, infrastructure and basic services have been recorded in Qusra. On July 8 and 13, electrical cables and the main water pipe serving around eight homes were damaged, causing water and power cuts in the village.
Twenty-seven settler attacks were recorded in the village from the beginning of 2026 through April. This was reported as the highest number among the Palestinian communities included in the report during the same period. One Palestinian was killed and eight people were injured in the attacks.
Nablus is one of the West Bank governorates where attacks have intensified
The Palestinian Commission Against the Wall and Settlements said 3,488 settler attacks took place in the West Bank during the first half of 2026. The number of attacks recorded in Nablus Governorate was 900.
Seventeen Palestinians were killed in settler attacks during the same period, three of them in Nablus Governorate. Eight of the 42 new settlement outposts established in the West Bank were located in Nablus.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 18 Palestinians had been killed in settler-related attacks from the beginning of 2026 through July 20. This exceeded the toll of 17 recorded for all of 2025.
The office said more than 1,200 attacks resulting in injuries, property damage or both had been documented in more than 240 Palestinian communities from the beginning of 2026 through the first days of July. This amounts to approximately six attacks a day.
According to the latest data published by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank since October 2023 has exceeded 1,183, while the number of injured has surpassed 12,635.
