West Bank: IDF vacates many of the occupied houses in Qusra. The five Italians have been evacuated
Following days of tension in the Palestinian village of Qusra, the Israeli army has withdrawn from most of the homes, whilst the government is stepping up efforts to re-establish civilian control in the West Bank settlements
Key points
The Israeli armed forces have withdrawn from most of the homes in the Palestinian village of Qusra, south of Nablus in the West Bank, where they had entered as part of an operation aimed at evacuating a number of settler outposts that had sprung up in the area. The news was reported by villagers to the Times of Israel and comes after days of tensions that have attracted the attention of the international community.
According to eyewitness accounts gathered at the scene, IDF soldiers had entered the homes yesterday morning. Several hours later, however, the Israeli army changed its approach, announcing that troops would not remain inside occupied homes. By the evening, the military had therefore vacated almost all the homes they had occupied during the operation.
There were also five Italian activists who were in the Palestinian village of Qusra, south of Nablus in the West Bank, and who were removed by the Israeli army. According to reports, they are safe and are now in a nearby village. The activists had been ordered to leave by the IDF, the Israeli Defence Forces. The mayor of Qusra, Abdul-Azim Wadi, in a statement reported by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, had previously explained that the Israeli army had “forcibly expelled the Italian activists who had managed to reach the houses a few days earlier, following attacks by settlers and the encirclement of the area”.
The incident relates to an outpost set up by Israeli settlers which, according to residents, had been preventing two Palestinian families from reaching their homes on the outskirts of the village for the past six days. The situation had triggered a large-scale military operation and drawn criticism and condemnation from various international actors.
Residents claim that the soldiers have left all but one of the houses affected by the siege, which belongs to Yusuf Hassan. Despite the withdrawal of troops from most of the village, settlers are reportedly still stationed outside the homes of the two families involved.
