Jewish Rioters Besiege Two Palestinian Homes in West Bank Amid Rising Nationalist Violence

The organization "Looking at the Occupation" reported on Monday that Jewish rioters have besieged two homes in the Palestinian village of Kusra in the West Bank. The residents, including a family with two young girls, are under complete siege without access to electricity or water, allegedly to force them to abandon their homes. The group also accused Israeli soldiers called to the scene of collaborating with the rioters and failing to end the siege.

Colonel (res.) Doron Meinert, a leader of the organization, recounted that a few days earlier, settlers, backed by the military, abused the residents of one of the homes for erecting a fence. The residents were forced to stand with their hands raised for hours. The following morning, military police detained two residents, handcuffed them for four hours, and then transferred them to the police, who released them after a brief investigation citing no offense was committed.

The Israel Defense Forces stated that the documented incident is under investigation by commanders and disciplinary measures will be taken based on the findings. Security data released on the same day shows a sharp 63% increase in nationalist crimes in the West Bank during the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year. There were 660 incidents in the first half of 2026, up from 405 in the second half of 2025 and 440 in the first half of 2025.

Attacks targeting security forces also rose by 50%, with 45 incidents recorded in the first half of 2026 compared to 30 in the previous half-year. Since October 7, there have been more victims of Jewish terrorism in the West Bank than Palestinian attacks, highlighting a surge in violence, settler violence, and terrorism in the region.