Ibrahim al-Hendi’s Killing, the Damascus Gate Cordon and the Qusra Siege

Israeli police said they shot Ibrahim al-Hendi, a 33-year-old East Jerusalem resident, near Damascus Gate at about 3:45 a.m. on September 4 after he allegedly tried to stab Border Police officers. Palestinian reporting identified al-Hendi as being from Beit Hanina and described the alleged stabbing as the police’s claim. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 2325

After the shooting, Israeli forces reinforced their presence around Damascus Gate and the Old City. Palestinian sources reported a military cordon and tighter movement restrictions that made it difficult for Palestinians to reach dawn prayers. The available reporting does not independently establish the circumstances of the alleged stabbing. 222530

What was happening in Qusra

Separate reports from the West Bank described three Palestinian families in Qusra, near Nablus, as remaining under siege by settlers who had surrounded their homes from August 9. Earlier reporting said residents’ water and electricity had been cut and that occupants had struggled to leave safely or obtain supplies. 244

On September 4, reports characterized the situation as its 28th day. They said the Israeli army had designated the area a closed military zone and prevented the families from entering or leaving. Around 100 peace activists arrived with food and medicine but were blocked from reaching the homes, according to Peace Now and contemporaneous news reports. 3643

There is an important qualification on the siege’s status: UN reporting on August 17 said humanitarian teams had reached the families and delivered water, food, medicines and other items after days of confinement. That indicates access conditions changed at points during the episode, even as later September 4 reports described continuing restrictions around the homes. 41

Why the access restrictions mattered

The Damascus Gate cordon and the Qusra closed-zone order involved different places and circumstances, but both reports centered on the practical effect of security deployment: restricted Palestinian movement. In Jerusalem, the reported impact was on people travelling to dawn prayers; in Qusra, it was on residents’ ability to leave and on outside supporters’ ability to deliver aid. 3036

Israeli military and police authorities gave security-based explanations for the measures. In Qusra, the IDF had previously said the area was a closed military zone; in an earlier aid attempt, it disputed residents’ assertion that activists had been prevented from delivering supplies directly. 33

A wider escalation, with contested counts

The Qusra reports appeared amid broader accounts of settler violence and Israeli military operations across the West Bank, including raids and detentions in Nablus and Jenin. 2136

Numbers cited in reporting vary substantially depending on the reporting body and cutoff date. Palestinian officials were reported in mid-August as recording 1,476 settler attacks in 2026. 53 The UN said that, as of August 10, it had documented more than 1,430 incidents that year, while noting that about 3,800 Palestinians had been displaced in 2026 because of settler violence, demolitions and evictions. 55 Later Palestinian commission figures cited 4,113 attacks during the first seven months of 2026. 49

Those totals should not be treated as directly interchangeable: the sources use different institutions, dates and apparent definitions. What they do support is that multiple monitors were reporting a high level of violence and displacement in the West Bank during 2026. 4955

Huckabee’s unusually direct condemnation

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called the Qusra siege a “horrific act of terror” and said those responsible were “Israeli terrorists.” His embassy said it had pressed Israeli forces and police to remove them. 14

The remarks drew attention because Huckabee has been publicly associated with support for Israeli settlements. They did not resolve the access restrictions or establish responsibility for every allegation surrounding Qusra, but they marked a notably forceful U.S. diplomatic response to the siege. 34