Tens of Israeli settlers have ended up breaking into the home of a Palestinian family in the West Bank town of Qusra, a property they had been besieging for weeks, according to the Israeli Army.
The settlers have surrounded three Palestinian houses in this West Bank town for 21 days, in a new episode of the increase in their attacks against Palestinian residents in the occupied territory. Israeli forces have cordoned off the area, but have not intervened to disperse the settlers.
Among those affected is, for example, Loui Ridi, a Palestinian-American based in Ohio who decided to return to Qusra upon learning of the start of the siege.
Finally, this Saturday, the settlers have ended up "entrenching themselves in the house" with the Palestinian family inside and "have thrown stones at the Palestinian civilian population," the Army has pointed out, which has been forced to act to expel the assailants.
The Army, finally, has seized the vehicles used by the settlers, which have been handed over as evidence to the Police to begin an investigation, the statement adds.
Palestinian media report that there are eight injured of varying severity after a stone-throwing confrontation with the settlers. Some of the injured have been evacuated by the Palestinian Red Crescent to receive medical attention.
Recordings of what happened would show that the settlers attacked the Palestinian home while the Israeli soldiers watched without intervening. One of the trapped Palestinians, Sadam Oday, a doctor by profession, has recounted that after the assault the soldiers fired tear gas at the house and arrested several residents, while allowing the settlers to leave. Oday has confirmed four injuries from tear gas inhalation and another two from the stones thrown by the settlers.
The owner of the house, Luay Bayruti, has explained that the soldiers tied up, blindfolded, and beat the Palestinians before releasing them.
After the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has "strongly" condemned the "criminal acts of violence" that he attributes to "a handful of rioters." "They cause a serious injustice to the law-abiding Jewish community. They interfere with the development of the work of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and harm Israel's image in the world," he has warned.
Netanyahu has emphasized the "rapid" action of the security forces, who confiscated three vehicles and "ended the incident in a short period of time." However, the Israeli newspaper 'Haaretz' has published that the seized cars would not be the ones used in the attack. "I hope that the security forces arrest the rioters and bring them to justice as soon as possible," Netanyahu added.
The Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, has also rejected the violence of the settlers, "contrary to the laws and values of the State of Israel." For this reason, he has called for a "decisive" response and the intervention of the security forces to "eradicate this unacceptable phenomenon and bring those responsible to justice."
On the other hand, this same Saturday, a team from the American television network NBC News was attacked by masked Israeli settlers in Yalud, West Bank. The NBC workers -- a journalist, a driver, a cameraman, and a producer -- and a Palestinian woman they were interviewing needed medical attention.
"They hit us and jumped for the car," reported journalist Matt Bradley, who received two blows to an arm. The Palestinian woman, Aida Ahmed Abdulá, 51 years old, lay on the ground after the attack and had to be attended to by the Palestinian Red Crescent.