NABLUS, August 19, 2026 (WAFA) — Israeli colonists, under the protection of Israeli occupation forces, continued for the 11th consecutive day to besiege three Palestinian homes in the Ras al-Ain area of Qusra, south of Nablus, amid attempts to force the families from their homes and impose a new reality on the ground.
According to WAFA correspondent, the occupation forces and colonists continue preventing the families from entering or leaving the three homes, while the area has been declared a closed military zone. The families have also been prevented from receiving essential supplies, including water.
The prolonged siege has left the residents facing increasingly difficult humanitarian conditions, with the besieged families suffering from a shortage of water after colonists blocked roads leading to the homes and prevented water from being delivered.
The siege began earlier this month when colonists surrounded homes in the Ras al-Ain area, erected tents near the properties and blocked access to them. The colonists had been attempting for months to enter one of the homes and take control of it, prompting members of the family to maintain a round-the-clock presence to protect the property.
On August 13, Israeli forces forced residents of two homes in Ras al-Ain to evacuate and turned 16 Palestinian homes in Qusra into military positions.
One of the homes belongs to Palestinian-American Loui Abu Ridi, whose family has been subjected to repeated harassment around the property.
The standoff has drawn wider international attention as the Israeli military has declared the area a closed military zone while the colonists have continued to maintain a presence around the Palestinian homes.
Qusra has faced repeated attacks by Israeli colonists in recent months. In April, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported several colonist attacks in the village involving damage to Palestinian homes and vehicles, theft of livestock and agricultural equipment, and injuries caused during subsequent confrontations.
The situation in the town has raised particular concern because the siege of inhabited Palestinian homes, combined with restrictions on access to water, food and movement and the declaration of the surrounding area as a closed military zone, has placed citizens under sustained pressure to leave their properties.
M.N
