Witnesses say IDF troops fired tear gas, detained residents inside Qusra home attacked by settlers

Saddam Oday, one of those trapped in the home attacked in the Palestinian West Bank village of Qusra today, says the military fired tear gas into the home and detained the residents inside while letting him go.

He says the Israel Defense Forces had not detained any of the settlers and had allowed them to leave.

The owner of the house, Luay Bayruti, says when the military arrived, they handcuffed, blindfolded, and beat those inside, before later releasing them.

The military said in a statement that troops and border police forces had arrived on the scene to remove “rioters” and protect the residents inside the house.

The military does not immediately respond to a request for comment on why they had reportedly fired tear gas at the house and detained and beaten the residents.

Bayruti says that after calling the military for help, he and six others were trapped inside the home for more than an hour as settlers threw stones.

Bayruti shows a Reuters reporter his bandaged arm, which he says had been injured by a stone during the attack.

Oday, a medic, says four of those trapped had suffered injuries due to the tear gas, and two had suffered injuries from the stones thrown by settlers.

The attack occurred a few hundred yards away from three homes to which settlers laid siege this month, drawing international condemnation and a massive IDF deployment that residents say has kept them effectively trapped in their homes.

“They spotted the residents working on their house, which is still under construction, and they started throwing rocks,” says Loui Abu Ridi, a Palestinian-American whose home was one of the three under siege this month. He says he watched today’s attack occur from his home.