Palestinians Face Hunger as Israeli Settlers Maintain West Bank Blockade

Palestinians trapped inside three homes in Qusra, south of Nablus, are running out of food as a settler blockade continues and Israeli forces prevent food deliveries from reaching them.

The blockade in the Ras al-Ain area has entered its 13th day. Around 15 Palestinians are living inside the three besieged homes.

Aisha Hassan, who is staying in one of the homes with her mother and brother, said they were “starving”, according to the Middle East Eye news portal.

“The municipal council tried to bring us food, but the soldiers prevented them, and the food was left outside,” Hassan said. “UNICEF staff were able to deliver some food to us a few days ago, and now it’s starting to spoil.”

Israeli soldiers arrived in the area last week, reportedly to remove the settlers. However, they have since blocked food deliveries to the families, according to local officials.

Qusra Mayor Abdul-Azim Wadi said he has been in regular contact with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to arrange food supplies. He said the Israeli military was deliberately preventing the deliveries.

The mayor said food boxes provided by UNICEF were left outside for about 24 hours before the families were allowed to collect them, causing some of the food to spoil.

Wadi also said he was stopped from entering one of the homes owned by Palestinian-American Luay Abu Rida. He said the Israeli army commander refused to allow him inside, while journalists were permitted to enter.

Ruqaya Hassan, a mother from Qusra, said the situation has been especially difficult for her two young daughters, who have developed bedwetting because of the stress.

She called on the international community to take action against Israeli settlement outposts and attacks by settlers and Israeli forces.

“The settlers’ aggression and the Israeli army’s aggression against the Palestinians must stop,” she said.

Amnesty International recently described the violence in Qusra as part of a “strategic settler terror” against Palestinians, which it said was “enabled, backed and funded” by the Tel Aviv regime.

The group Combatants for Peace also said the siege was part of a wider situation in which Palestinian communities face regular settler violence.

The situation comes amid increasing Israeli military operations and settler attacks across the occupied West Bank. According to official Palestinian figures, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 1,182 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 2023, injured thousands and abducted around 24,000.