‘Water and salt’: Qusra residents trapped in Israeli settler siege

As the blockade enters its second week, Palestinians remain trapped by settlers and soldiers without water or power.As the siege enters its second week, 15 Palestinians, including two children, remain besieged inside three homes in the Ras al-Ain area of Qusra, south of Nablus. Surrounded by armed Israeli settlers and military battalions and convoys, the families are cut off from food, water, and electricity. The United Nations reported that the residents are “trapped inside their homes in a state of terror, unable to attend to their basic needs and without access to water or electricity”.Stripped of humanityThe humanitarian crisis remained acute on Sunday when the Israeli army intercepted a UNICEF convoy attempting to deliver aid to the trapped families. While the entry of two vehicles provided temporary relief regarding food, military forces blocked and expelled a water tanker from the vicinity of the homes, sustaining the severe deprivation of basic resources. The day prior, settlers attacked municipal workers and a bulldozer attempting to repair utility lines. Qusra Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi told Al Jazeera, “We were unable to restore electricity and water to the three besieged homes in the town.”Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Israeli settlers’ siege of Palestinian homes in West Bank enters fourth daylist 2 of 3Israeli forces order families to evacuate homes in Qusralist 3 of 3Huckabee calls Israeli settlers ‘terrorists’: Can US push end Qusra siege?end of listWadi emphasized the severity of the situation, stating, “Humanely, we have often heard about human rights, about children’s rights, and about women’s rights, but today what our families in Jabal Ras al-Ain are experiencing is truly stripped of humanity.”Al Jazeera’s Laith Jaar, reporting from Qusra, witnessed the military’s direct involvement in enforcing the blockade. “The Israeli army is the one providing this support to these settlers, and the Israeli army is moving in the area with the participation of settlers who are trying to distance Palestinians and expel them from their homes,” Jaar reported. Describing the military and settler coordination, he added, “We are talking about continuous siege operations that completely tighten the stranglehold on the Palestinians.”