Palestinians have been told to leave their homes at gunpoint by the IDF in village where Israeli settlers have besieged their homes with attacks and demolition.
Palestinian households in a village in the occupied West Bank were forced at gun point to leave their properties during an Israeli military operation. They will never be able to return home.
The IDF has come under serious scrutiny for allowing violence against Palestinians, and destroying homes and making tiktok’s of videos where IDF soldiers are going through women’s clothes and leaving excrement in temporary barracks they create inside someones home.
The settlers had besieged residents in three homes in the area since Sunday, cutting off their power and water supplies.
Israeli forces using the homes
Qusra Mayor, Abdel Azim Wadi, said that his village had been declared a closed military zone – and Israeli forces were using some of the vacated Palestinian houses as barracks. The Israeli military said the aim was “to protect the residents”.
An Israeli spokesman told the WTX the settlers’ action was “deplorable” and “unacceptable” and the government would investigate and arrest those responsible.
War Crimes
“The Israeli army is acting against it, and we are investigating it and we will arrest those responsible and we will prosecute them,” David Mencer said.
Settlers have been emboldened by the rapid expansion of settlements under the current Israeli government – leading to a dramatic rise in settler violence as they try to drive Palestinians off their land.
All settlements are illegal under international law.
Of the besieged families’ three homes in Qusra, which are made up of the Abu Ridi and Hassan families, the residents of two were told to leave on Thursday, they told the WTX News. They said those told to leave had since moved into the third house.