Key facts
- Loui Ridi, a Palestinian American, returned to his West Bank home after it was besieged by Israeli settlers.
- The siege of Ridi's home in Qusra lasted nearly a week.
- Settlers cut off water and electricity to Ridi's house.
- Ridi traveled from Ohio to the West Bank to reclaim his property.
- The Israeli military escorted Ridi and journalists to his home.
- The UN stated that 15 Palestinians were trapped in homes by settlers in Qusra.
Loui Ridi, a Palestinian American residing in Toledo, Ohio, returned to his West Bank home in Qusra after it had been encircled by Israeli settlers for nearly a week. Ridi, who had been monitoring the situation remotely via security cameras, decided to fly to the Middle East to reclaim his property.
Upon arrival at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, Ridi expressed his determination not to let settlers seize his house. His journey to Qusra, a village known for frequent settler attacks, involved traveling on a rocky road where settlers and Israeli military were visible. Accompanied by journalists, Ridi was eventually escorted by a military vehicle to his house, which he began constructing three years ago on land owned by his grandparents.
Ridi's brother and nephew had been protecting the house during the siege, enduring a lack of running water and electricity after settlers cut off supplies. Ridi stated that his house is located in an area designated under Palestinian Authority control according to 1990s peace accords, asserting that the settlers should not be present.
The incident occurs amid rising violence by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, which some attribute to the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which has promoted settlement expansion. The United Nations considers settlements illegal under international law, a view Israel disputes. The UN also reported that approximately 15 Palestinians, including children, were trapped in their homes by settlers in Qusra. The Israeli military stated it deployed forces to manage the situation and ensure resident security, but settlers remained outside the homes for over a week.