Troops leave Qusra home blocked by settlers after clothes-tossing incident

IDF troops left a home in the village of Qusra overnight where they had been stationed for over a week after settlers besieged the residents, according to Qusai Abu Ridi, who resides in a neighboring home.

The troops had taken up residence inside the home of Yusuf Hassan, with Hassan and his family moving to another unoccupied home nearby, as part of an operation meant to protect Palestinian families from settlers who had set up an outpost that had prevented them from leaving their homes.

While troops are no longer inside the home, they remain stationed outside to prevent settlers from returning.

The move comes days after troops were filmed throwing clothes belonging to the family out of a window of the home. In the video, a soldier can also be heard telling a resident speaking to him through the window, “I am the homeowner.”

“The incident was investigated. The troops exercised poor judgment and threw items out of a building in which they were operating to defend the area. Immediately afterward, the incident was investigated and the items were collected and stored,” the IDF said Saturday.

“The conduct of the troops and the remark heard in the video are contrary to what is expected of an IDF soldier. We emphasize that in recent days, coordination was carried out with village residents under which soldiers would temporarily stay in several buildings in the area in order to enable them to maintain order and continuously prevent rioters from reaching the area,” the military added.

Over the past week, IDF forces have maintained a presence in the area to prevent settlers from rebuilding makeshift structures and again blocking access to the residents’ homes.

Though no longer hemmed in by the settlers, residents have been told that they cannot leave their homes without coordinating through their lawyer due to a closed military zone order imposed in the area.

The IDF has not responded to a Times of Israel query on the matter.