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UN Says 15 Palestinians Trapped Without Water or Power in Qusra

8/19/2026

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Center

Settlers Siege Qusra

Israeli settlers besieged Palestinian-American Loui Ridi’s home in Qusra for a week, forcing him to fly from Ohio, returning with an escort.
The Israeli army declared Qusra a military zone, yet it failed to clear the area as settlers remained.
The United Nations reported that 15 Palestinians, children, were trapped without water or electricity.
UNICEF delivered food, water and medicine to the besieged family over the weekend.

Left

Settlers Siege Qusra

Israeli settlers besieged Loui Ridi’s home in Qusra a week, prompting him to fly from Ohio and return escorted.
The siege is framed as coordinated settler terror, a pattern of impunity condemned by the United Nations.
U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee called settlers “Israeli terrorists,” matching Amnesty International’s Erika Guevara Rosas on terror.
UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese called the Qusra siege the “climax” of Israel’s rule of impunity.

Blindspot

Blindspot

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese described the Qusra siege as the “climax” of Israel’s decades-long rule of impunity.
France, Spain and the United Kingdom issued condemnations of the siege.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Center-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

On 22 March 1979 the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 446, voting 12-0 with Norway and the United States abstaining, and declared Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza illegal. The council reaffirmed this in Resolution 605 (1987) during the First Intifada, and France, Spain and the United Kingdom now condemn the week-long siege of a Palestinian-American home in Qusra as a breach of those unresolved resolutions.

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Settlers Siege Qusra

Israeli settlers besieged Palestinian-American Loui Ridi’s home in Qusra for a week, forcing him to fly from Ohio, returning with an escort.
The Israeli army declared Qusra a military zone, yet it failed to clear the area as settlers remained.
The United Nations reported that 15 Palestinians, children, were trapped without water or electricity.
UNICEF delivered food, water and medicine to the besieged family over the weekend.

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