Israeli Settlers Set Up New Illegal Outpost Near Ramallah in the West Bank

Israeli settlers have erected tents for a new illegal settlement outpost near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, while separate settler groups have surrounded the village of Qusra for the past week, reported Al Jazeera correspondent Tharwat Shakra from Ramallah.

The settlers set up the tents in the Wadi Zeytun area near the village of Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah, on Sunday in an attempt to establish a new outpost. On the same day, they began constructing a separate outpost in the village of Burqa. If the new outpost is established, the number of outposts encircling the two neighboring villages would rise to six, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

According to Shakra, settlers have taken over approximately 4,700 of the 4,800 dunams (470 of 480 hectares) of Umm Safa and 10,000 of the 12,000 dunams (1,000 of 1,200 hectares) of Burqa.

Meanwhile, in the Ras al-Ain area of Qusra village, south of Nablus, the settler siege on three families entered its second week, with 15 Palestinians, including two children, trapped inside their homes. Israeli soldiers have been rotating positions and pitching tents in front of homes after dismantling another tent settlers had tried to set up earlier. Municipal service teams later restored electricity and water to the besieged families.

In separate incidents on Sunday, Al Jazeera's West Bank correspondent reported that settlers attacked a Palestinian home in the town of Beit Imrin, north of Nablus, and detained those inside. Israeli forces then arrived and arrested nine people at the house before withdrawing. Soldiers also blocked Palestinian Red Crescent teams from reaching the area and confiscated keys to ambulances and medical relief vehicles.

Attacks also occurred in the Nab'a al-Kaabneh community near Taybeh and a raid on a house in Turmus Aya, both in the Ramallah area. Attacks in the al-Jaabari neighborhood of Hebron left Palestinians wounded, some by gunfire, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The Palestinian Prisoners Association told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces have increased arrests in towns with illegal outposts, targeting residents who confront the attacks.

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, told Al Jazeera that settler violence and the prolonged siege in Qusra should be understood as part of Israel's decades of "impunity," which has now reached its "peak." She said Israel has no right to conduct military offensives in Palestinian territory and has an obligation to protect civilians. However, Israeli officials appear to be cooperating with settlers rather than restraining them.

"Israel has outsourced coercion to the settlers and is using them to advance ethnic cleansing," Albanese said. "This is a crime... This is outright terrorism; these settlers must be investigated and prosecuted."

She added that while Israel's ultimate goal may be "ethnic cleansing," it is using "war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocidal acts as a means to continue the Nakba" — the 1948 ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of Palestinians.

Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative, described the situation in the West Bank as "extremely dangerous," saying settler groups are carrying out "an average of 30 attacks per day" as they "lead" the campaign to seize land and push Palestinians out. He called for Arab and international pressure on Washington to stop Israeli actions in the West Bank and Gaza.

Israeli attacks in the West Bank have escalated since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, according to Wafa. About 750,000 Israeli settlers live in 156 settlements and 360 illegal outposts in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The UN considers Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory illegal under international law.