One month and one IDF ‘outpost evacuation’ later, Qusra remains besieged by settlers

Matan Golan reports in Haaretz on 16 September 2026

A month after the Israeli military launched an operation to evacuate outposts established in Palestinian Authority-administered territory between the West Bank villages of Qusra and Jalud, the settlers are still there.  They continue to roam freely across Ein Aniya, the hill where the outposts were established, even though the area was declared a closed military zone earlier this year.

On Tuesday, meanwhile, the IDF dismantled a guard post near the homes of Palestinian residents who were effectively besieged by settlers in mid-August. Israeli forces have not left the hill entirely, but have moved to its upper reaches, hundreds of meters from the homes.

The settlers continue to be seen on the hill daily despite a military closure order barring Israelis from the area for about six months. In practice, the order did not prevent the outpost from becoming established.

The settlers’ blockade of the Palestinian homes in Qusra drew unusual international attention, in part after it emerged that one of the homeowners is a U.S. citizen.

The illegal outpost remains in place, with settlers using Palestinian structures they took over rather than the sheds and temporary structures typically erected at outposts. The use of existing Palestinian buildings has become common at outposts established within Area B, where the Palestinian Authority administers civilian affairs, leaving little for Israeli authorities to demolish other than Palestinian property.

Enforcement in such cases can instead be directed against the settlers themselves or against equipment and vehicles essential to maintaining the outpost. In practice, those measures have not been taken either.

“We have no protection. The settlers are still walking around near the house, and we’re afraid for our safety,” one of the Palestinian residents living near the top of the hill told Haaretz on Tuesday. “If the settlers encounter us on the road to the village, it’s very dangerous for us. The soldiers won’t see when they attack us.”

The High Court of Justice is expected to hear a petition Wednesday filed by Qusra residents who have faced months of harassment by settlers residing on the hilltop, more than 2 kilometers inside Area B.

A recent Haaretz investigation found that some 30 such outposts have been established in areas under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction, with government encouragement and military protection.

Since the military operation began, Palestinian residents have faced severe restrictions on their movement and have been required to coordinate travel through the area covered by the closure order. Settlers, by contrast, have continued to move through it freely.

Despite weeks of international attention and the prolonged, unusual military operation to evacuate the outposts, the settlers have not been removed. Instead, they have continued to move around the hill daily, often in full view of soldiers.

Numerous videos show soldiers interacting amicably with settlers despite the military order barring Israelis from the area. They have been filmed shaking hands, sitting together on a couch and ignoring an all-terrain vehicle as it passed the guard post. During Rosh Hashanah, settlers were even filmed blowing a shofar alongside soldiers inside the very guard post intended to protect Palestinian residents from them.

About two weeks ago, while security forces were deployed on the hill, dozens of masked settlers entered the closed military zone from the direction of the Shiloh settlement bloc, attacked Palestinian residents and entered an occupied building while nearby soldiers stood by.

The soldiers subsequently detained Palestinian residents who had been attacked, while the masked settlers made their way back toward the Shiloh settlement bloc through the Jalud area without being stopped. There, they attacked foreign journalists and members of the Tubasi family, who were driven from their home on July 22.

The Tubasi family’s home in Jalud also lies within the military zone closed to Israelis, yet settlers continue to use the house they took over. The family petitioned the High Court, which ruled last week that the state must ensure their safe return home within 14 days and sharply criticized the failure of the state and military to protect Palestinian residents.

IDF declines to answer questions on enforcement
Haaretz asked the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit whether the military considers the operation to evacuate the outposts near Qusra and Jalud successful and whether it has met its objectives. Haaretz also asked why the army dismantled the guard post protecting Palestinian families, how often soldiers have enforced the closure order against settlers and how the military intends to protect families on the hill while settlers continue to roam the area.  The IDF was also asked about the numerous documented interactions between soldiers and settlers during an operation intended to remove the settlers.

Since the operation began, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit has declined to answer Haaretz’s questions about the lack of enforcement of the closure order against settlers.

About a month ago, police said law enforcement procedures in the West Bank designate the IDF as the sovereign authority in Areas A and B and therefore responsible for preventing violence and enforcing restrictions on entering closed military zones. Israel Police, meanwhile, is responsible for investigating such incidents.

The IDF declined to say whether it accepts the police’s position regarding the military’s responsibility for law enforcement in the area. It also declined to detail what instructions were given to Border Police forces in the West Bank, which operate under the IDF’s authority, regarding enforcement of the closure order against settlers.

Soldiers have the authority to detain Israeli civilians, while the Border Police and Israel Police have policing powers that allow them to make arrests. Yet videos from the past month do not show soldiers detaining settlers until police arrive. In many cases, soldiers also appear not to have recorded the details of settlers who violated the closure order so the information could be passed to police for further enforcement.

The IDF declined to say how many times soldiers had detained settlers on the hill or called the Border Police or police in response to violations of the closure order.

About two weeks ago, the IDF responded to findings from the Haaretz investigation that first drew widespread attention to events in Qusra. The investigation included footage of soldiers praying with settlers at an extension of the outpost established at the entrance to the Palestinian homes, effectively blockading the residents.  Following publication of the footage, the force’s commander was removed from his command position, though not from reserve service.

The IDF said at the time that troops had been instructed “to maintain a presence in the area in order to ensure complete separation between the two populations and to refrain from actions that could be interpreted as identification with or support for illegal activity at the outpost that caused harm.”

The response indicated that the military was treating the outpost as an existing presence despite its location within an area barred to Israelis under the closure order. Troops were instructed to separate the two populations and avoid openly supporting illegal activity at the outpost, rather than to evacuate it.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in response that “security forces operate in accordance with the operational situation assessment and adjust their methods of operation in the area of the village of Qusra in the Samaria Brigade accordingly. When a report is received, security forces are dispatched to the relevant areas to maintain order and prevent rioters and lawbreakers from reaching the area,” it added.

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