# Four Days Outside a House in Qusra, and the Forces Sent to End It Left Twice

> Settlers cut the water and power to Youssef Hassan's home and camped at the entrance. Troops dismantled the canopy on Wednesday, did not remove the people, and withdrew.

- Source: Israel Today
- Canonical URL: https://israeltoday.news/article/qusra-settler-siege-forces-withdraw
- Author: Amir Doron
- Section: Security
- Published: 2026-08-12T13:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-12T13:30:00.000Z
- Tags: West Bank, Settlements, IDF

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A Palestinian family in Qusra, south of Nablus, has been shut inside its home since Sunday. Settlers put up temporary structures across the entrance to Youssef Hassan's house and cut the water and electricity lines. On Wednesday morning troops and Border Police arrived to take the outpost down, found the access road blocked with rocks, removed the canopy, and left after several hours without moving the people who built it. They came back briefly later in the day and left again.

The operation was compromised before it began. The plan reached the media in advance, and dozens of settler activists reached the site before the forces did. Border Police used tear gas and riot dispersal means against them. The army has called the outpost illegal, reprehensible and unacceptable, and said Border Police evacuated the canopy and are working to evacuate the rest. It has also confirmed disciplinary action against soldiers filmed praying alongside the settlers.

Senior officers went in person. The head of Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, met the family, with the West Bank division commander Brig. Gen. Kobi Heller and the Border Police district commander Assistant Commissioner Niso Guetta present. A Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance reached the house on Tuesday evening to take out a girl who needed treatment and to bring food. The entrance was still blocked as the day ended.

Two figures put the episode in proportion. Thirteen illegal outposts have gone up since the deadly clash at Tell last month and two have been fully demolished. Serious nationalistic crime rose 63 percent in the first half of this year, from 405 recorded attacks to 660. The question raised at Qusra is not whether the army holds the authority to clear an outpost. It is what happens when it arrives, uses it partially, and drives away.

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Originally published by Israel Today. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://israeltoday.news/article/qusra-settler-siege-forces-withdraw.