Settlers attack West Bank’s Qusra, take over home with Palestinian family inside

IDF confirms attack, says it worked to remove Israelis from house but doesn’t immediately confirm if troops succeeded; several Palestinians wounded in settler violence across West Bank

By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff 29 August 2026, 6:21 pm
Edit
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
Settlers enter Palestinian properties in the West Bank village of Qusra, August 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Settlers enter Palestinian properties in the West Bank village of Qusra, August 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Dozens of extremist Israeli settlers attacked the West Bank village of Qusra on Saturday, where they took over a Palestinian home while the family was inside, before the military was called to the scene to remove them. It was not immediately clear, however, whether any settlers remained inside the house or in Qusra.

One Palestinian woman was reportedly injured in the attack and taken to a local hospital. She was one of at least five Palestinians wounded in settler attacks across the West Bank on Saturday, according to local reports.

Qusra, located southeast of Nablus, has been the target of a wave of recent settler attacks, including a weeks-long siege on a number of Palestinian homes, which has drawn international attention to the village and has caused a prolonged military deployment in the area, which has itself led to the forced displacement of several Palestinian families from their homes.

The army says its forces have maintained a presence in the area to prevent settlers from rebuilding makeshift structures and again blocking access to the residents’ homes.

According to Palestinian media reports, several dozen settlers arrived in Qusra on Saturday morning and began setting fires on its outskirts and throwing rocks at residents and their homes.

Footage from the scene showed dozens of settlers descending upon the town from a neighboring hillside, as an ATV apparently driven by a settler drove through what is supposed to be a closed military zone that the IDF instituted in Qusra several weeks ago.

Another video showed several dozen masked settlers loading onto the beds of a number pickup trucks, as they prepared to raid the village.

Despite the fact that many of the alleged perpetrators are religious, settlers regularly use motor vehicles to attack West Bank towns during Shabbat.

Separate footage showed several fires near the village, which, according to the reports, were set by the settlers.

While attacking the village, several dozen settlers then invaded a Palestinian family’s home while they were inside, and barricaded themselves inside the house.

According to the Israeli military, IDF troops and Border Police officers were dispatched to Qusra after dozens of “Israeli rioters” raided the village and attacked residents, including throwing stones at Palestinians and others.

“Upon the arrival of the forces, dozens of rioters were identified barricading themselves in a Palestinian home, while there were Palestinian residents in the home,” the IDF said in a statement.

The army added that it was aware of reports of Palestinians being wounded in the settler attack, including a woman who was taken to a hospital.

“The troops first worked to remove the rioters from the house and separate the populations, to protect the occupants of the house,” the military said, though it did not immediately confirm if the settlers were actually removed from the home.

Security forces also confiscated several vehicles belonging to the settlers, which the army said they used to reach the village.

Other “findings” were also seized and handed over to the police, the IDF said, but there were no reports of arrests.

In the nearby village of Jalud, which was the subject of another settler siege earlier this summer, Palestinian media reported Saturday that settlers attacked a Palestinian family and assaulted a group of foreign journalists who were filming in the area.

According to the WAFA news agency, the family that was attacked was the same family that fled their home last month after it was the target of weeks of settler attacks. The foreign media crew, which was not immediately identified, came to Jalud to document the al-Tubasi family‘s story and film their home, which has since been taken over by settlers.

Mahmoud al-Tubasi and his wife, as well as several members of the media crew, were assaulted, WAFA reported.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, settlers attacked and injured two Palestinians on the outskirts of the town of Arraba, near Jenin, WAFA reported.

Further south, two elderly Palestinian women were seriously wounded and robbed in a settler attack on an orchard near the Ramallah-area town of Silwad, according to local reports.

The two women were identified by WAFA as Alia and Mona Mahmoud Hamed, sisters aged 65 and 75.

According to the reports, settlers attacked the pair while they were picking figs from their orchard, and left them with severe bruises. They also stole their phones and the keys to their car, WAFA reported.

Settler violence has surged in recent months, with daily attacks and harassment. Prosecutions are rare, and critics accuse the IDF and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of condoning or even encouraging the violence.

The most senior IDF officer in the West Bank reportedly warned during a closed-door security assessment on Monday that mounting settler violence could ignite a broader escalation in the territory.

Most Popular
read more:
If you’d like to comment, join
The Times of Israel Community.
JOIN THE TOI COMMUNITY
Join The Times of Israel Community
Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Confirm Mail
Thank you! Now check your email
You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.