Israeli soldiers clash with settlers in Qusra. But was it for show?
An Israeli army vehicle stands near a Palestinian house which was besieged by Israeli settlers in Qusra village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 13 August 2026
Naela Khalil reports in The New Arab on 13 August 2026:
A rare confrontation between Israeli soldiers and settlers in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday [12 August] has raised questions among Palestinians over whether the clash marked a genuine attempt to restrain settler violence or a carefully staged show of enforcement amid mounting international pressure.
The confrontation unfolded on Wednesday morning in Qusra, south of Nablus, where settlers had erected a tent just metres from the home of the Abu Rida family. The family says settlers have besieged the property for four days in an attempt to seize it.
The scene was unusual in a territory where the Israeli military has for years been accused of protecting settlers during attacks on Palestinians, including assaults in which homes and property have been torched and Palestinians have been killed.
But shortly after 7am on Wednesday, Israeli soldiers arrived and attempted to dismantle the settlers’ tent.
“The occupation army arrived at around 7am today, attempting to dismantle the tent that several settlers had set up in front of our home to seize it,” Qusay Abdulmunim Abu Rida told The New Arab. “But what happened was strange, as the settlers attacked the soldiers, who responded by firing tear gas and stun grenades.”
Soldiers dismantled the tent and confiscated a car and an off-road vehicle belonging to the settlers, Abu Rida said. The settlers then confronted the soldiers, recovered the car and fled along bypass roads used by settlers.
The confrontation lasted about an hour and a half. But any reprieve for the Abu Rida family proved short-lived. “It is true that the army left after an hour and a half of clashes, but the number of settlers continued to increase until it reached more than 100 settlers at the site of the same tent that the soldiers had confiscated,” Abu Rida said.