The Qusra Siege and the Unfolding Crisis in the Occupied West Bank

A Conflicting Role for Israeli Forces

The response of the Israeli military was inconsistent and drew widespread criticism. On Wednesday, August 12, Israeli troops deployed to the area and clashed with settlers, using tear gas in a rare confrontation while trying to clear the outpost . However, the troops then withdrew after failing to disperse the settlers, leaving the families still trapped .

The following day, August 13, the military reversed course. Troops took up positions inside the besieged Palestinian homes, effectively occupying the very houses the families were defending . At the same time, the army ordered some Palestinians to evacuate their homes. Qusra Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi said the military’s actions were effectively siding with the settlers . The army later reversed the evacuation order, saying soldiers had been instructed that "Qusra residents will remain in their homes" . The military stated it had dismantled two illegal outposts and detained one Israeli .

UN and US Condemnation

OHCHR appealed to Israeli authorities on August 13 to protect the trapped families, calling the siege part of an "intensifying campaign" to seize Palestinian land . Just weeks earlier, on July 29, OHCHR had warned that settler violence had reached an "all-time high" and that settlers and Israeli security forces had "often" acted together to attack Palestinian communities .

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee issued a notably sharp rebuke, calling the siege a "horrific act of terror" and demanding the removal of what he termed "Israeli terrorists" from the area .

The Broader Displacement Crisis

The Qusra siege is not an isolated incident. Settler violence has surged dramatically in 2026. By late July, OHCHR reported settler attacks averaging over 60 per day—a 63% increase from 2025 . This violence, combined with access restrictions, had displaced over 2,000 Palestinians by August 2026 . As of March 2026, nearly 1,700 Palestinians had already been displaced, surpassing the total for all of 2025 . The Security Council was briefed on August 11 that the West Bank is at a "breaking point" . Israeli authorities have also approved or advanced about 12,360 housing units in settlements so far in 2026 .

'Imminent Risk' to UNRWA in East Jerusalem

Parallel to the settler violence, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) faces an existential threat in East Jerusalem. In January 2026, Israeli authorities changed the locks on the UNRWA Jerusalem Health Centre and cut services . UN Secretary-General António Guterres "strongly condemned" what he called an "unlawful entry into and closure" of the facility, which serves hundreds of Palestinian refugees daily .

Separately, Israeli forces stormed and demolished buildings at UNRWA's headquarters compound in East Jerusalem in January 2026 . The agency's last remaining operational facility in East Jerusalem, the Qalandiya Training Centre, has been raided by Israeli forces five times in 2026 . These actions follow Knesset legislation passed in October 2024 and amended in December 2025 that prohibits UNRWA from operating on Israeli-declared sovereign territory and bars Israeli authorities from contact with the agency, placing all remaining UNRWA facilities in East Jerusalem under imminent risk of closure .