On August 20, Israeli forces erected three new checkpoints at the Ras al-Ain hill in the northern West Bank village of Qusra, amid an ongoing settler siege on Palestinian homes in the area. The checkpoints consist of large yellow and orange metal bars placed on two concrete blocks, a familiar sight in many West Bank villages that has become increasingly frequent since Israel's war on Gaza erupted in October 2023.
Earlier, the Israeli military had placed a checkpoint at Qusra's main entrance, forcing Palestinians to take detours, but many alternative routes have also been closed. The area has now been declared a closed military zone, while three homes in Ras al-Ain have been under settler siege since August 9, drawing international attention and condemnation. Local residents have been trapped inside their homes, unable to come and go freely.
The new checkpoints are believed to be aimed at pushing settlers away from the homes by 100 to 150 meters, but according to Abdel Hakim Wadi, a local resident, the move actually creates a more permanent siege. "They push the settlers away, but now they set up checkpoints. It's a much more fixed siege," Wadi told Al Jazeera.
The three new checkpoints surround the hilltop, isolating the homes on it from the area below. One checkpoint is placed right at the entrance to the house of Loui Ridi, a Palestinian American living in Ohio, who returned to Qusra on August 17 to protect his property and has been unable to leave his home since. A second checkpoint is near a house under construction, and a third is on the left side, above another house also being built.
The presence of the checkpoints has rendered the road across the hilltop useless. This road not only connects Qusra to Ras al-Ain but also links the village to neighboring Talfit and Jalud. Ridi said settlers still remain around his home, while Israeli troops prevent him and his neighbors, including a family with two young girls, from moving freely. "We have appealed to the US embassy and the international community to end this siege," Ridi said, expressing frustration that they have only received verbal condemnation rather than concrete action.
For Wadi, his nearly one-hectare plot of land, planted with over 100 olive trees along with almond and fig trees, and containing a water well seized by settlers, lies near one of the new checkpoints. He has been unable to access his land since the siege began. "I see them bathing with water they take from the well," Wadi recounted. He fears the checkpoints will prevent him from ever returning to his land, even if the military closure order is lifted in the future.
Wadi believes Israel will maintain the siege but in a different form. "They will act as if they have ended the siege, but in reality, they are just replacing settlers with the army," he said. According to Wadi, Israel's ultimate goal is to seize more land in the West Bank piece by piece.
