World·NewDozens of masked Israeli settler militants attacked homes surrounding the occupied West Bank village of Qusra on Saturday, the first major attack since a siege by settlers in the area earlier this month drew an international outcry. The settlers surrounded a Palestinian home, throwing stones while seven Palestinians were trapped inside, according to witnesses.Settlers surrounded the home and threw stones, while seven Palestinians were trapped inside, onlookers sayThomson Reuters · Posted: Aug 29, 2026 1:23 PM EDT | Last Updated: 20 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Palestinians look at the houses that came under settler attack in the Palestinian village of Qusra, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Saturday. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)Dozens of masked Israeli settler militants attacked homes surrounding the occupied West Bank village of Qusra on Saturday, the first major attack since a siege by settlers in the area earlier this month drew an international outcry.In one case, the settlers surrounded a Palestinian home, throwing stones while seven Palestinians were trapped inside, according to witnesses who spoke to Reuters.Saddam Oday, one of those trapped, said the Israeli military fired tear gas into the home and detained the residents inside while letting him go. He said the military had not detained any of the settlers and had allowed them to leave.WATCH | Palestinian American pleading for help amid Israeli settler siege:Palestinian-American pleads for U.S. to help end Israeli settler siegeAugust 20|Duration 2:33A Palestinian-American man whose family's home in the West Bank community of Qusra has been violently besieged by Israeli settlers is pleading for U.S. help to end the standoff. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee's condemnation of the siege has so far done nothing to end it.The owner of the house, Luay Bayrudi, said when the military arrived, soldiers handcuffed, blindfolded and beat those inside before later releasing them.The Israeli military said in a statement that troops and border police forces had arrived on the scene to remove "rioters" and protect the residents inside the house.The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why they had reportedly fired tear gas at the house and detained and beaten the residents.Residents report frequent encroachmentsBayrudi said that after calling the Israeli military for help, he and six others were trapped inside the home for more than an hour as settlers threw stones.He showed a Reuters reporter his bandaged arm, which he said had been injured by a stone during the attack.Oday, a medic, said four of those trapped suffered injuries due to the tear gas, and two sustained injuries from the stones thrown by settlers.Luay Bayrudi, who owns a house that came under attack by Israeli settlers, stands outside the medical centre in Qusra, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, after receiving treatment on Saturday. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)The attack occurred a few hundred metres away from three homes to which settlers laid siege this month, drawing international condemnation and a massive Israeli military deployment that residents say has kept them effectively trapped in their homes."They spotted the residents working on their house, which is still under construction, and they started throwing rocks," said Loui Ridi, a Palestinian American whose home was one of the three under siege this month. He said he watched Saturday's attack from his house.Ridi said he had seen near-daily encroachments of Israeli settlers into the area surrounding his home, despite the heavy Israeli military presence in the area.WATCH | Israeli soldiers appear to throw items from besieged home's balcony:Israeli soldiers appear to throw items from balcony of besieged house in West Bank's QusraAugust 21|Duration 3:23Video obtained by Reuters, filmed by Palestinian-American Loui Ridi, appears to show one Israeli soldier throwing items from the balcony of one of the besieged houses in Qusra and another dumping things into a well on the property.Settler violence risingRights groups say the increasing settler presence on the edge of Palestinian villages, like Qusra, is part of a wider effort by settlers to seize more land from Palestinians, further eating into territory where Palestinians aim to establish a state.Violence by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank has been on the rise, with some emboldened by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has overseen a massive settlement expansion in the territory. Netanyahu has not commented on the situation in Qusra.Israeli settler blockades part of escalating violence against Palestinians in the occupied West BankThe Israeli military said in its statement that along with the border police it would continue "to operate in the areas of Qusra and (neighbouring) Jalud to prevent further disturbances and restore order in the area."The United Nations and most countries deem the settlements illegal under international law pertaining to military occupations. Israel rejects this, viewing the area as disputed rather than occupied. LISTEN | Here's what a surge in settler violence against Palestinians means:The Current24:11 American-Palestinian trapped in West Bank amid Israeli settler siegeWe hear from Loui Ridi who travelled from Ohio to the village of Qusra in the West Bank to help his brother and nephew who have been trapped in their home, after Israeli settlers surrounded their house last week. Then political analyst, Dahlia Scheindlin, on what this situation means in the larger context of surging Israeli settler violence towards Palestinians in the West Bank, and where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government stands on the issue.