After visit to West Bank village besieged by settlers, Israeli peace activist warns: 'a major inferno is coming'

Ofer Caffis

In the occupied West Bank village of Qusra, a tense and dangerous standoff has unfolded over the past week as illegal Israeli settlers have placed several Palestinian families under a siege inside their own homes without food or water. Israeli politician and peace activist Ofer Caffis warns that unless the world intervenes, there could be 'catastrophic bloodshed.'

The crisis began last Sunday, August 9, when a group of settlers surrounded three homes in the village, setting up tents, blocking roads, and cutting off the residents' electricity and water. Around 15 people - including at least two young children - are still blockaded inside their homes "in a state of terror".

Settlers and Israeli military forces have repeatedly blocked medics, journalists, and activists trying to deliver food and water to the trapped families. At one point settlers blocked an ambulance from reaching a two-year-old girl suffering from a high fever. They were eventually evacuated.

Israeli politician and peace activist Ofer Caffis managed to visit Qusra yesterday and wrote this eyewitness report on X:

"Yesterday, during my visit to Qusra, I delivered necessary equipment and a water pipe to Palestinian families who have been under siege for a week, in order to enable them to reconnect their water supply-specifically the pipe cut by settlers. I was explicitly promised that they would be allowed to restore the water. I was also assured they would be permitted to reconnect the electricity, which had similarly been severed and disconnected by settlers. Yet now, more than 24 hours later, they are still forbidden from reconnecting their water.

"When they attempted to restore the power-arriving with a backhoe and a work crew under explicit authorization from the occupation forces-the soldiers and police suddenly vanished. The Palestinians attempting the work, along with the Palestinian homeowners, were ambushed by 30 settlers and forced to flee for their lives. As they ran, the military suddenly reappeared, detained them, and demanded to know why they were running. When they answered, "We are fleeing from the settlers," soldiers bound them, handcuffed them, blindfolded them, and held them in that condition for roughly two hours.

"The technician responsible for reconnecting the power was brutally beaten. After two hours, they were released and finally reconnected the electricity, while the settlers continue to roam freely.

Beyond the crisis in Qusra, settlers in Umm al-Khair invaded a private residential courtyard with a flock of sheep that devoured the family's vegetable crops. Police stood idly by. Shortly thereafter, the military arrived only to declare the site a closed military zone and take over the Palestinian house. A few Palestinians, including women and children, were injured by the settlers and hospitalized. Not a single settler was arrested.

"Netanyahu's fascist government and the occupation forces leave us all controlled by the most violent, monstrous fanatics among the settlers. They intend to ignite a massive conflagration in the West Bank to advance their messianic visions and, in their calculation, boost their electoral prospects. Every effort must be made to stop this.

"I issue a warning: a major inferno is coming, bringing catastrophic bloodshed, and the whole world will pay for its silence. This is not a threat; it is an urgent cry for help."

LINKS

Channel 4 broadcast this report on Qusra yesterday.

Rabbis for Human Rights report: www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=Rabbis%20for%20Human%20Rights