On August 21, 2026, around 11:25, several dozen armed settlers invaded by foot and ATV the Khirbet Harmoush neighborhood of Wadi Sa'ir, north of the Hebron Hills, in the occupied West Bank. They opened fire on residents and their homes, killing a child, wounding an elderly resident, and burning a house and shops containing fodder belonging to resident Ibrahim Mahmoud Shalalda. The Israeli army did not intervene to stop the pogrom and even arrested several residents around 1:30, following the attack: Zain Fawzi Al-Tarwa, Sami Fayez Al-Tarwa, and his brother Osama. Armed with assault rifles, the settlers injured three residents and killed 17-year-old Kareem Shalalda. The teenager later died from his critical gunshot wounds. His father, Sanad Shalaldeh, said about 50 Israeli settlers attacked their home and that one of them shot his son at close range: “My son was standing in front of the house and was doing nothing. Suddenly, about 50 people attacked the house. When he asked them to leave, they shot him in the chest.” Shalaldeh said around 50 Israeli settlers approached the family home and that one of them shot his son at close range. He added that his son was shot while trying to drive the attackers away from the house. He added that two other people were seriously wounded in the attack. During the same attack, Israeli settlers set fire to a Palestinian family home, damaging the house and forcing family members to remain inside during the assault, according to the homeowners. Traces of fire and damage were visible at the home of Nadira Shallaldeh. She said her husband is around 90 years old and questioned why the family was being targeted, adding that her children had previously been forced away from the area. **Name of the martyr:** Karim Sanad Raja Shalalda, 17 years old. **Other casulaty:** The wounded man as a result of gunfire by settlers in the Hamroush area in Wadi Sa’ir is Samir Issa Al-Tarwa, 70 years old. **Testimony of the Owner of attacked home, Nadira Shalaldeh:** [source](https://www.reutersconnect.com/item/israeli-settlers-attack-palestinian-family-home-near-hebron-occupied-west-bank/dGFnOnJldXRlcnMuY29tLDIwMjY6bmV3c21sX09XQU5BQ0FBVklERU8yMDI2MDgyMTQyMjcyMzU5) “We have been living here for nearly 20 years. We have livestock and we have children. Our sons are out in the open, and our daughters are married. They have left us with nothing. They have brought another Nakba upon us.” “Now they say there are settlers coming from Barij… They told me, ‘Go, get away from there.’ I said, ‘Why? I stayed. Me and the old man stayed here.’ When they came, they started shooting. They broke the doors and the windows. What didn’t they do outside? They kept hitting the doors and the windows. They said, ‘Go, go.’ I told our children, ‘Don’t open [the door].’ They said, ‘Go away, go away.’ They did not let the old man enter. They said, ‘If the old man comes in, we will beat you and beat him.’ I mean, I was sitting with the old man. I did not see anything. They kept saying, ‘Go away.’ Our old man is about 90 years old. What can a 90-year-old man do to you? What does he have? Whether we are old or young, what have we done to you?” “Every day, the settler comes by force. He wants you to leave the place and go. The settler comes. They had already driven our children away. The next day, he comes again. I mean, they want us to leave too.” “We have endured, by God. Everything we have is in this house. We do not want to leave it. This house was built through the hard work of all my children. My children worked and worked on it. For 20 years, and now I should leave and hand it over to you? No. I want to die and be buried here. I will not leave it. No matter how much they pressure us, they want the house.” “I mean, who can we complain to? As the saying goes, if your enemy is the ruler, who can you complain to? They are all the same, my son. By God, we have no one but God. And whoever fears God, He will make a way out for him. God willing, things will change. God willing, He will bring back those who are absent and set things right.” **Israeli Police and Army statement** According to The Times of Israel "The Israel Police said it launched an investigation into the incident, including into whether the building on fire had indeed been torched by settlers. The military says that the troops “dispersed the confrontation” and escorted all of the Israelis out of the Palestinian village. “The IDF clarifies that unauthorized excursions endanger those who take part in them, and divert forces from defense and counterterrorism operations in the area,” the army said.

On Augustus 21, 2026, overnight, an Israeli special forces invaded the home of Fathi Khazem, in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, shot and killed him in front of the very eyes of his 12 y/o son, before seizing his body. Fhati Khazem was a prominent Palestinian symbol of resistance who lost two of his sons, in 2022. The first one, Raad Khazem, after he has perpetrated a shoting attack on Israeli civilians in Tel Aviv, the other one when their family home was targeted by a misile during an Israeli revenge raid. Medical and local sources confirmed that Israeli forces shot and killed Fathi Khazem directly inside his home after he resisted an abduction attempt. The attack took place during a military raid in the al-Masarwa neighbourhood of central Jenin. **Mondoweiss investigation:** Early Friday, 21 August, Israeli soldiers raided Fathi Khazem’s apartment in the al-Masarwa neighborhood of Jenin. He was there with his 12-year-old son, Adam. Before entering, soldiers had reportedly forcibly taken a young man from the neighborhood and used him as a human shield. They then blew open the apartment’s front door and stormed inside. Soldiers ordered Khazem to raise his hands, remove his clothes and kneel. Khazem refused to kneel and reportedly said: “Who are you that I should kneel before you?” A verbal confrontation followed. According to Adam and the young man used as a human shield, soldiers then began beating Khazem inside the apartment. Family members told Mondoweiss that Khazem attempted to defend himself, after which soldiers shot him at point-blank range. His 12-year-old son witnessed the execution. Adam and the young man were then confined in the bathroom and forced to strip completely. The young man, who understood Hebrew, said he overheard soldiers discussing whether they should kill him and Adam as well. Khazem's brother Amin said eyewitnesses saw Fathi being shot even after he had already been wounded, describing the killing as a “premeditated crime” and “deliberate assassination. **Testimony of relative** *Speaking about Adam’s condition, another member of the family, Adam’s maternal uncle, told Mondoweiss the 12-year-old remains in severe psychological distress. “Imagine a 12-year-old boy watching his father being killed before his eyes, then stripped of his clothes and locked in a bathroom with a man he doesn’t even know,” the uncle said. “Up until this moment, Adam hasn’t cried or shed a single tear.”* *He added that Adam was deeply attached to his father and accompanied him everywhere. When he saw Israeli soldiers assaulting his father and opening fire, he ran toward them and held up his father’s ID card, hoping they would stop. Instead, they shot his father in the chest and head in front of his eyes.* **Broader context:** Fathi Khazem’s name emerged in April 2022 after his son Raad carried out a shooting attack in Tel Aviv, killing 3 and injuring 6 Israeli civilians, and was subsequentely killed by the Israeli army. In the few hours that followed the killing of his son, Fathi, called “Abu Raad”, went out to receive the crowds of mourners, addressing them loudly and in defiance of the Israeli occupation, declaring his determination to continue resisting Israel until the liberation of Palestine. The Israeli forces had stormed Jenin camp multiple times in the attempt to reach him, including destroying his house (on September 6, 2022) and asking him to surrender himself to them. Abu Raad had never handed himself in. Israel Hayom published a full report on Fathi Khazem 'Abu Raad', titled “The Birth of a New Hero,” commenting on his ability to command the respect of the broad Palestinian public, which “sees him as a leader.” On September 28, 2022, an Israeli special forces unit killed his son, Abdul Rahman Khazem, in a revenge operation against his slain brother, and his father, who had been pursued by the Israeli occupation forces since April 2022. In the same attack, Ahmad Alawneh, 24 years old and worked as a Palestinian Authority (PA) intelligence officer, was killed and his body desecreted by Israeli soldiers. Abdul Khazem and Ahmad Alawneh, were killed when Hazem’s father’s home was hit by a missile. The army then proceeded to encircle the home, during which heavy armed clashes broke out with several Palestinian fighters. His daughter Shaimaa has reportedly been held under administrative detention for more than a year. According to his brother, a Palestinian Authority-brokered understanding with Israel had supposedly guaranteed that Israel would no longer pursue or arrest Fathi, provided he stayed out of public life, left Jenin and made no public statements.

Local sources reported and documented intense gunfire from Israeli artillery on eastern Beit Lahia within the Yellow Line in the first half of the day. The assault lasted until the evening and led to the murder of a child after he was shot in the head. **Name of the martyr:** 1. Ahmad Ramzi Aql (15 y/o) The child brother and father

Around 1 pm, an Israeli airstrike targeted a motorcycle in wetsern Nuseirat camp, killing a young man, who became the fifth of his siblings to be killed in the genocide. **Name of the martyr:** 1. Sobhi Sami Shahtout

At 6 pm, an Israeli airstrike targeted the *'A-lhulwa wi'lmurra ("through tick and thin")* cafe at the Gaza City harbor. At least six people were killed on the spot including a child, and 14 others were injured. Two other young men succumbed to their wounds by the morning. Among the the wounded was an elderly mother whose right hand was gruesomely severed as a result of the blast that also killed her son Isam Mortaja. **Names of the martyrs (identified):** 1. Muhammad Hamdi Ahmad Al-Masri (father) 2. Jihad Muhammad Hamdi Al-Masri (child son) 3. Izz-eddin Salem Deeb 4. Isam Muhammad Musa Mortaja 5. Muhammad Fathi Husein Naser 6. Samed Sameer Harb Abu Habal (his wife, children and in-laws were killed in the genocide. He remarried and was expecting a baby son) 7. Muhammad Najeeb Al-Attar (succumbed to injuries the next morning) 8. Mosab Muhammad Madi (succumbed to injuries the next morning) 9. Mahmoud Hosni Abu Shar (succumbed to injuries 6 days later)

On Augustus 14, dozens of settlers blocked with their cars the entrance of the town of Sa’ir, northeast of Hebron in the southern West Bank. Then, armed fired live rounds at Palestinian citizens and their homes after invading the “Al-Adisa” area of Sa’ir town, resulting in the injury of two civilians. The Israeli army were filmed facilitating the attack of the settlers. The Palestinian Health Ministry condemned the attack by Israeli Settlers adding that settlers shot the young man Mohammad Nabil Mutawwar, 26, who is a nurse who works at the Dura Governmental Hospital. The nurse Mutawwar was initially transported to the Hebron Governmental Hospital, before being transferred to the Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron due to the seriousness of his injuries. **Casulaties:** 1. Muhammad Nabil Al-Mutawer (27), an ICU nurse at Dura Governmental Hospital in Hebron, suffered a severe back injury. The Nursing Syndicate says the gunfire caused a complete spinal cord injury, leaving him permanently paralysed. 2 & 3: Two Palestinians, including a girl, were injured when israeli settlers opened live fire on Palestinians and their homes in Sa’ir, north of Hebron.

On Friday, 14 August, Palestinian landowners and roughly 100 Palestinian and Israeli activists, including members of Combatants for Peace, went to privately owned Palestinian land on the outskirts of Beit Sahour, east/southeast of Bethlehem. The immediate reason was that Israeli settlers had taken over an existing/abandoned building on the Palestinian property and had begun installing Israeli symbols there. Activists feared this was the beginning of a wider takeover of the surrounding land. The activists entered the property with the Palestinian owners, removed Israeli flags and other symbols from the building, replaced them with Palestinian flags, and planted olive trees. **The armed settlers** An armed Israeli settler then arrived, and called other settlers by phone. One of the little gang (pproximatively 6 people) repeatedly fired live ammunition into the air. Video shows him subsequently pointing a loaded firearm directly toward Palestinian and Israeli activists. One account says a bullet struck stones in the wall close to the people present. No injuries were reported. Reuters footage from the scene also documents the armed settler approaching the activists and Palestinian landowners, with other armed settlers present. There were journalists at the scene, at least a Palestinian one, a japanese and an Italian, meaning the incident was not only a confrontation between settlers and Palestinian residents; the live-fire episode occurred in the presence of Palestinian activists, Israeli activists and members of the press. Israeli soldiers subsequently arrived. According to Haaretz and the testimony of activists present, the soldiers ordered the activists and Palestinian landowners to leave the property, while the settlers remained. The IDF described its intervention as responding to a “disturbance” and said that forces dispersed the gathering and restored order. As ususal, the armed settler who had fired live ammunition was not the person removed from the site; the Palestinians and solidarity activists were removed. The settlers subsequently returned to the building and reinstalled the Israeli flags and symbols that the activists had removed. The nearby settlement is called Shdeman. But some of the armed settler may come, by appearance, from the Har Hamor yeshiva that sits in the Har Huma settlement/neighborhood. **Testimony of an activist to Haaretz:** As part of their attempts, the settlers hung Israeli flags and the Star of David on a stone building located between the settlement and inhabited residences in the town. "*The way we arrived, we were divided into groups, and at an early stage we started hearing shots that got closer and closer, one of them hit the stones of the nearby wall", said the activist. "One of the settlers fired in the air and then pointed the weapon at us and fired in the air again, like that about three times. Four armed settlers arrived and shouted at us to fly away from the place, which is their territory"*. **Testimony of Roni, Israeli activist/ protective presence** "This morning, I took part in a solidarity action in Beit Sahour organized by Combatants for Peace (@cforpeace1). The plan was completely different from what ultimately happened. The intention was to stand in solidarity with the residents of Beit Sahour and the landowners in the area, who are dealing with the threatening and violent presence of settlers from the new and violent Shdema outpost, established in November 2025 near the city. We planned a nonviolent action: to reach the Palestinian lands, plant olive trees, and go to a Palestinian home on which settlers had hung Israeli flags and a Star of David. We wanted to remove the symbols that had been placed on a house that does not belong to them, clean up the site, and replace them with a Palestinian flag and peace flags carrying messages of Palestinian-Israeli partnership, justice, and equality. We managed to do that part. We removed the Israeli flags and the Star of David from the house and hung a Palestinian flag and peace flags. Then the settlers from the outpost arrived. They were armed, and one of them did not hesitate to simply point his weapon at us and fire. I’m sharing the video of the settler shooting. Fortunately, no one was injured. Later, the settlers tried to take the ladder from us so they could climb back onto the Palestinian house and put back the flags and symbols we had removed. Then came the part that has become routine in the West Bank. The settlers called the army. The army arrived. They refused to take our complaint about the shooting and ordered us to leave. The settlers stayed, and the Israeli flags were put back up on the Palestinian house and on the hill opposite. We didn’t have time to plant the olive trees. And this is about much more than a story about a shooting, flags, or a single action that was stopped. The residents of the area have been dealing for some time with an outpost that exerts relentless pressure on them. Settlers come down toward the homes and agricultural lands, threaten and harass them, while Palestinians are struggling to reach and cultivate their own land. This is how territory is taken over. Not in one day, but step by step. Establish an outpost. Move down onto Palestinian land and prevent its owners from reaching it. Instill fear. And anyone who comes to stand with them and try to enable them to remain on their land is removed by the army. Not “friction.” Not “both sides.” One system, with a clear division of roles." **Expertise from Dror Etkes** In order to understand how disturbed this story is, you need to know the area. The Shadma settlement was established and is still an illegal settlement also according to the laws of the apartheid regime. The official jurisdiction defined for it is about 93 dunams, which are based on a Jordanian expropriation from 1965 for a military base, which was established there and which Israel inherited after the occupation of the West Bank in 67. The building seen in the photographs is 500 meters as the crow flies east of the settlement's jurisdiction, a place that is privately owned by Palestinians who were expelled from the place by the settlers with the backing of the army. The settlement is adjacent to a military base, receiving water, electricity, an access road from it. Babysitting services 24/7 - everything a rotten outpost in the West Bank needs. The settlers, who by appearance can be understood to come from the Har Hamor yeshiva that sits in the Har Huma settlement/neighborhood, take over the area around the base/settlement. This is of the order of about 500 dunams owned by the residents of Beit Sahor and Bethlehem."

## **Historical context** Ganim was an Israeli settlement located in the northern West Bank, just east of the Palestinian city of Jenin. It was administratively managed under the Shomron Regional Council. ## **Ganim's history prior to its physical re-establishment in August 2026** 1. Foundation, Origins, and Geography (1983–2005) Ganim was founded in 1983 by members of the Betar movement. Its name was derived from the assumed biblical name of nearby Jenin, Ein Ganim (Anem), associated with the Tribe of Issachar. 2. Following the Oslo Accords, Ganim and the neighboring settlement of Kadim remained enclaves located east of Jenin, which observers note are part of a network of infrastructure designed to surround the city. 3. Evacuation During the Disengagement (2005). In the summer of 2005, Ganim's residents were evacuated and its synagogue was dismantled by the Israeli army as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan. Ganim was one of four settlements in the northern West Bank evacuated under this plan, alongside Kadim, Homesh, and Sa-Nur. 4. Post-Evacuation Status: Following the evacuation, the Knesset passed the Disengagement Law, which formally barred Israeli citizens from entering these evacuated areas, leaving the region between Nablus and Jenin without an Israeli civilian presence for nearly two decades 5. Transition Period and Path to Re-establishment (2023–2025) Repeal of the Disengagement Law (2023): On March 21, 2023, the Knesset passed a law repealing the entry prohibition for the four evacuated northern West Bank settlements. Initially, a military order in May 2023 permitted entry only to Homesh. 6. In May 2024, under the direction of then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the military command extended the cancellation of the disengagement restrictions to cover the entire northern West Bank area, including Ganim. 7. On December 11, 2025, the Israeli security cabinet officially approved the re-establishment of Ganim as part of a decision to establish 19 new settlements. This decision paved the way for preparatory work on the site and the eventual return of Israeli families in August 2026. ## **Timeline of Ganim's re-establishment from 2025 up to August 2026** On December 11, 2025, the Israeli security cabinet officially approved the re-establishment of Ganim (alongside the neighboring Kadim settlement) as part of a formal decision to establish or reorganize 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank. In late February 2026, the Israeli military began reoccupying and preparing an abandoned military base in the Jenin area to support the impending civilian return. On March 17, 2026, the very first caravans and mobile homes were delivered and set up on the grounds of the evacuated settlement to begin preparing the physical outpost. April – May 2026: Operational Launch, Land Seizures, and Boundaries Official Procedures Begin: In late April 2026, Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, declared the official commencement of physical procedures to reconstruct and repopulate the Ganim settlement. On May 17, 2026, the Israeli military command issued an order to seize 22 dunums of Palestinian land near the Haddad tourist area (located in Qabatiya, south of Jenin) specifically for the benefit and reconstruction of the Kadim and Ganim settlements. To legally consolidate the territory, IDF Central Command Commander Gen. Avi Bluth signed military orders defining Ganim's new jurisdictional boundaries, creating a closed military zone of 2,790.56 dunams On July 23, 2026, a Palestinian Authority policeman allegely stabbed a man in the Ganim area before being shot and killed by Israeli forces. In early August 2026, the Israeli military demolished 27 Palestinian structures within the Jenin governorate. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich explicitly stated that these demolitions were carried out to pave the physical way for the return of settlements to Ganim and Kadim. Along the road leading to Ganim, the Israeli army leveled adjacent Palestinian property and used piles of rubble to block local access roads, disconnecting nearby Palestinian communities. By August 6, 2026, around two dozen prefabricated homes had been installed on Ganim's hillside as bulldozers leveled more of the surrounding terrain to make room for further construction. On Thursday, August 13, 2026, Israeli settler families officially repopulated Ganim, 21 years after the evacuation during the 2005 unilateral disengagement plan. Inauguration Ceremony: To secure the arrival of settlers and officials, the military closed off side roads and main entrances from Haddad Roundabout to the Al-Jalama military checkpoint. The physical return was celebrated on-site by Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi. ## **Annexationist Declarations:** At the ceremony, Bezalel Smotrich declared that "Samaria is ours... an inseparable part of the Land of Israel and the State of Israel," emphasizing that repopulating Ganim carried significant strategic security value. Defense Minister Israel Katz, who also attended the ceremony, said: “This is our home, this is the Land of Israel, this is where we will remain forever.” Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan called the move “a moment of historic rectification” and said the government’s plans would significantly increase the Jewish population in northern Samaria.

**On August 9**, Israeli settler gangs from the nearby outpost surrounded three Palestinian family's homes on the outskirts of Qusra, (Ras Al Ain hamlet) south of Nablus, in Area B of the occupied West Bank, preventing the family from entering or leaving. The targeted houses were a compound of three homes, behind walls and security gates, including the two-story home of Yousef Hassan, a Palestinian-American, and his family, where they have lived for five years. The people trapped inside were Yousef Hassan, his wife, their two young daughters (aged 2 and 4), his mother, brother, sister, and three neighbors. Two other Palestinian family in the area was also under siege. These houses had been targeted for months, on a daily basis, as the independent journalist Nathaniel Jasper reported six weeks before. The soldiers, when called, contributed to harassing residents by searching or arresting them instead of the perpetrators. Settlers engaged in nightly stone-throwing, obscene language, shouting, and attempts to break into the house. Hassan noted that while the harassment had gone on for seven months, it had escalated sharply in recent days. This group of settlers is the one that besieged the Tabasi house in Jalud, on the other side of the mountain, and finally, with the help of the army, seized it and has continued to occupy it until now. ## **Timeline:** **On Sunday, August 9**, the Israeli settlers set up a makeshift tent/structure (a "sukkah") directly outside the entrance of Hassan's home, under the mother outpost of Tel Talpiot, on the nearby mountain, an illegal hamlet several times evacuated and destroyed by the Israeli army and several times rebuilt. Settlers cut off the electricity lines and water supply to the property, while Hassan managed to maintain limited device power using a solar panel. They blocked the road with rocks and prevented the family from reaching essentials such as food and clean water. They attempted to break into the houses and threw stones towards the windows. The IDF enforced a Closed Military Zone order, originally issued in June, officially to protect the family but, on the ground, to block journalists and solidarity activists. While the order, on paper, prohibits anyone except Palestinian residents from entering the area, in practice, the settlers were permitted to move freely and remain at the site. On Sunday, spatial defense soldiers arriving at the scene were filmed praying with the settlers, taking photos at the encampment, and completing a quorum (minyan) for evening prayers at the outpost. **On Monday, August 10**, the family's food supplies were running low, and Hassan's two-year-old daughter developed a high fever and began vomiting. Activists, including AndreyX and Adele Shoko, tried to reach the house to provide food and medicine, but were stopped by the soldiers posted in the zone. When they came back in the evening with an ambulance in order to transfer the toddler and her mother to hospital and to bring food to the residents, they were violently assaulted by settlers on quads and in SUVs. This episode of terror ended with the arrest of Andrey by the army. The Haaretz team, led by Matan Golan, trying to report on the event, was assaulted by settlers and prevented from reaching the house. **On Tuesday, Augustus 11**, the mother and her toddler were finally evacuated by ambulance. The grandfather, who was outside the house when the siege began, stayed for days in his car to watch over his family. Human rights organizations, including Breaking the Silence, state that the army's enforcement of military zones and protection of settlers is crucial for maintaining the siege and facilitating the forced displacement of Palestinians. The siege continues. Settlers maintain their presence despite the involvement of smeIsraeli security forces. Though, the Central Command chief, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, visits or becomes directly involved and promises that the settlers will be removed, but the siege is not effectively ended. **On August 12**, Israeli army began a major military deployment.The Israeli army and Border Police enter Qusra in force. All the village, and not only the 3 targeted houses is declared a closed military zone. Senior officers, including Avi Bluth, arrive, ostensibly to remove a settler outpost established near the besieged homes on Ras al-Ain Mountain. The army dismantles the tent of the settler structure/outpost, but settlers continue to gather and, according to reporting, return. Instead of simply removing the settlers and ending the siege, Israeli forces take control of numerous Palestinian homes including homes of the besieged families. At least 16 Palestinian families of Qusra are ordered to evacuate or are forced out. Troop Redeployment: On Wednesday evening, IDF Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir met with senior commanders and ordered an infantry reserve battalion back from leave to reinforce West Bank troops and maintain operational control. **On August 13, 2026**, forced evacuations and international outrage Israeli forces forcibly remove two Palestinian families from their homes, despite earlier promises to end the settler siege. Other Palestinian homes remain occupied by soldiers. Reports describe damage and desecration of a Quran inside some homes after the military takeover. The settlers' siege of the three original homes continues. U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee publicly condemns the attackers, calling the episode a “horrific act of terror” and referring to the perpetrators as “Israeli terrorists”—an unusually strong statement from him. The Israeli military says it is acting to protect residents and remove the settlers, but the events on the ground expose its inability or unwillingness to permanently clear them. For its part, the Israeli army announced, on Thursday, that its forces dismantled two sites set up by settlers on the outskirts of Qusra and the neighboring village of Jalud, confiscated equipment and arrested an Israeli, claiming that the deployment of forces in the area aims to "maintain security". But the United Nations Human Rights Office said that, until Thursday, the settlers remained in the vicinity of the homes, despite the dismantling of the tent they had set up between them. **On Augustus 14, 2026**, sixth day: the siege was still not over. Around 15 Palestinians remained trapped in three homes, with settlers still restricting access. The army withdrew from most of the Palestinian homes it had occupied, but the settler siege continued. About 80 Israeli activists, including members of the "Rabbis for Human Rights" organization, Jonathan Pollack and Houria Al-Saadi, attempted to bring food and supplies face military blockade and are prevented from directly reaching the besieged families; supplies have to be transferred under restricted conditions.M.K. Ofer Cassif managed to rach the house, with his Parelmentary immunity, and to bring food and water t the residents. The mayor of Qusra describes the repeated military removal of the nearby settler outpost as “just a performance”, noting that the Ras al-Ain outpost had reportedly been evacuated nine times in seven months, only for settlers to return. The UN human rights office and the Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemn the siege. The White House also pressures Israel to publicly condemn the settlers. **On Augustus 15, 2026**, the situation remains unresolved. The immediate military operation had been scaled back and many of the houses occupied by soldiers had been vacated.. The families remained fearful that the objective was to force them to abandon their homes, allowing settlers to take control of the properties afterward. ## **Official Military Responses & Actions:** On Wednesday morning, Gen. Avi Bluth, the IDF regional commander, visited the site and promised Hassan that the settlers would be evacuated. A few reserve soldiers removed the settlers' tent but left their bedding and personal items. After clashes with settlers, troops withdrew, leaving the settlers at the site. **IDF Spokesperson Statements on August 10:** The IDF stated that commanders were "gravely concerned" about settler actions and that soldiers who supported them faced disciplinary action. It confirmed that the military was working with police to bring those responsible to justice, though no clear timeline was provided for lifting the siege. **Troop Redeployment:** On Wednesday evening, IDF Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir met with senior commanders and ordered an infantry reserve battalion back from leave to reinforce West Bank troops and maintain operational control. ## **Historical Violence in Qusra:** The current siege is taking place meters away from where 28-year-old Amir Moatasem Odeh was killed by a settler from the same violent outpost in March, and his father was stabbed. No arrests have been made for the attack, although six months of house arrest were ordered for one of the outpost's residents in connection with this murder. ## **Thread by Breaking the Silence on Augustus 11** "A Palestinian family is besieged by the IDF and settler terrorists in Qusra, in the West Bank. No one is allowed in or out: no food, no ambulances, no journalists. This is a new method for carrying out the same policy: forcing Palestinians off their land. Here’s how it works🧵 The Hassan family, including two daughters aged two and four, lives in the home. After 7 months of harassment, settlers erected a hut outside the house two days ago and blocked anyone from entering or leaving. They also cut the electricity and tried to break in. What are the soldiers doing? They’re in Qusra, too, praying with the perpetrators. The IDF’s involvement is not limited to hanging around with the criminals at the literal scene of their crime. The army’s involvement is crucial for maintaining the siege. The army’s there for settlers’ protection, and no less important, to make sure journalists, solidarity activists, and ambulances can’t reach the family. For this purpose, the IDF is exploiting a closed military zone order it issued in June. On paper, the order bars anyone but the Palestinian residents from entering the area. In practice, violent settlers are more than welcome, while an ambulance trying to treat Hassan’s daughter is turned away. The idea is simple: scare the family out, then the settlers will take over the house. In July, that’s what they did in Jalud. Back then, settlers, too, besieged a family for two weeks while the IDF issued a closed military zone to keep journalists out. Eventually, the family fled, and the settlers took over. To facilitate ethnic cleansing, the army uses Closed Military Zone orders a lot. Amid terror attacks, it systematically uses them to force solidarity and protective-presence activists out while allowing terrorists into Palestinian villages or Palestinian olive groves during harvest season. Violent settlers may do the “dirty work” of daily terror against Palestinian men, women, and children, but neither this terror nor ethnic cleansing would be possible without the army’s support. Village after village, house after house. It keeps happening because it is policy." **UN HROffice statement:** The United Nations Human Rights Office stated that Israeli forces were present at the scene and did not initially intervene to end the siege, but rather prevented paramedics, solidarity activists, and journalists from reaching the families, before soldiers dismantled a settler tent on Wednesday, while settlers remained around the homes the next day. The United Nations says that the settlement outpost from which settlers set off towards the Ras al-Ain area was established near Qasra in November 2025, and that the following months witnessed an escalation in home invasions, physical attacks, vandalism, theft and burning, including targeting a mosque. The United Nations Human Rights Office said that what is happening in Qasra makes the lives of families "unbearable", and that the pattern of restrictions on them aims to force them to leave their homes and lands, warning of the danger of their forced displacement. The United Nations considers all Israeli settlements and outposts in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, illegal under international law, and demands that Israel stop settlement activity, protect Palestinians from settler attacks, and hold their perpetrators accountable.

On Augustus 5, 2026, at 02:40, dozens of military vehicles stormed Qalandia camp, carrying boxes, equipment and maps. The Israeli forces stormed raided and searched a number of homes and the headquarters of the Popular Committee, occupied a house and turned it into a military point, detained a number of citizens, and released them after conducting a field investigation with them. The Israeli soldiers distributed leaflets stating that “a large-scale operation” in the camp was under way. Israeli forces deployed heavily inside the camp and carried out house-to-house raids. Israeli army had arrested at least 20 people including a woman. They kept 3 detainees: Al-Askari - Ghassan Al-Khatib, Al-Askari - Adham Naeem Badran, and Muhammad Karim Abu Latifa. Among them, 2 soldiers from The National Security and Customs Police. They also demolished a vehicle wash on Airport Street, owned by the citizen Rabie Hamad - resident of Qalandia camp, under the pretext of not having a license. At noon on 05. 08. 2026, the soldiers forces fired stun grenades and tear gas towards citizens and journalists, in an attempt to obstruct media coverage. They beat 2 citizens (one of whom was the journalist Muhammad Sumrin) while he was covering the raid and fired stun grenades at other journalists. They took up positions on residents' roofs after forcibly removed several residents from their homes. They occupied a house owned by a citizen of the Mansour family, and turned it into a military point. Footage posted by Quds shows several Israeli soldiers aggressively confronting a Palestinian man, who appears to be unarmed, before tackling him to the ground while pointing assault rifles at him. Local mosques were prevented from holding dawn prayers. They also raided an UNRWA vocational training centre. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported treating eight Palestinians beaten by Israeli forces and evacuating five patients after access to injured and sick residents was obstructed. **Report on Augustus 6:** Since 02:40 on 05. 08. 2026 The Israeli forces continue to storm Qalandia camp, closed a number of its entrances with dirt barriers, imposed a curfew, raided and searched many homes, occupied a number of homes and turned them into military points, detained many citizens, and released them after conducting a field investigation with them, and arrested 3 Citizens (including a female citizen), after demolishing part of one of them’s house with explosives before arresting him, and opened fire on a citizen, wounding him It severely beat 14 citizens (including a citizen and his son), and demolished a number of shops in the vicinity of the Qalandiya military checkpoint. On Augustus 5, at 21:50, the soldiers opened fire on a citizen, Youssef Khaled Shehdeh Kasba, wounding him. He was subsequently admitted to the government hospital in Ramallah for treatment. On Augustus 6, the Israeli forces in Qalandia camp and the town of Kafr Aqab severely beat 18 citizens, causing them to suffer bruises, among them, Alaa Ali Aslan, Youssef Khader, Ibrahim Musa Mutair, Muhammad Musa Mutair, and Shadi Suleiman Zayed. The soldiers in Qalandia camp opened fire on a citizen, Mahmoud Al-Afandi, and wounding him. He was subsequently admitted to the government hospital in Ramallah for treatment. On Augustus 6, those known among the detainees in Qalandia camp are: Al-Askari - Rabie Muhammad Youssef Hamad, Khalil Asaad Manasra, Haitham Yaqoub, Muhammad Ibrahim Abu Latifa, Anas Ziyad Wahdan, Muhammad Jamal Ammar, Samih Abu Rumaila, Majd Awad Kharoub, Anas Wahdan, and Muhammad Karim Houria. **On Augustus 7**, the Israeli forces withdrew from the Qalandia refugee camp north of occupied East Jerusalem late Thursday following a destructive two-day military raid that left 51 Palestinians injured, according to the Jerusalem Governorate. **Israeli official statement:** “The army has begun carrying out a wide-scale operation in Qalandiya camp,” Yoram Halevy, Israel’s coordinator of activities in the Palestinian territories, said on Facebook. Halevy did not specify how long the operation would last. He called on Palestinians to “comply with the instructions of security forces during the operation and avoid any unnecessary friction.” "Security forces are operating in the Qalandia camp area in order to thwart terror and apprehend wanted individuals," a military official told AFP. COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body in charge of civilian matters in the Palestinian territories, said in an Arabic-language statement that the large-scale operation targeted "terrorist elements, terrorist infrastructure, and the possession and trafficking of weapons". "We will not allow the camp to become a center of terrorism or a safe haven for terrorists and criminals, just as we do not allow this in other camps throughout Judea and Samaria," the statement added, using the biblical name for the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. **Broader context:** In 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government advanced plans for the construction of a 9,000-unit settlement on the grounds of Jerusalem's former Atarot airport, adjacent to Qalandia. Palestinian residents have since voiced fear that raids and home demolitions could be tied to a strategy of eviction ahead of settlement construction, without any official word from Israeli authorities. **Al Haq [statement:](https://x.com/alhaq_org/status/2085390248016544047?s=20)** (@alhaq_org | الحق) "On 4 Aug. 2026, Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) launched an ongoing raid on Qalandiya Refugee Camp, north of Jerusalem, sealing all entrances, deploying bulldozers and heavy military vehicles, and besieging the Qalandiya Vocational Institute. IOF are carrying out widespread raids on homes and arbitrary arrests across the refugee camp. Around 60 Palestinians have reportedly been detained, with released detainees reporting threats of re-arrest and some subjected to severe beatings. Homes and property belonging to camp residents were reportedly vandalised and looted during the raid, including the theft of gold jewelry. IOF also destroyed doors and windows of the Jamil Ammar family home after removing the family from the property. IOF prevented journalists from entering Qalandiya Refugee Camp and reportedly assaulted members of the press covering the raid, restricting independent documentation of events. Nearly 19,000 residents of the camp face growing fears of forcible displacement amid repeated military operations and escalating pressure on refugee communities. The ongoing raid on Qalandiya Refugee Camp comes amid a wider assault on Palestinian refugee camps. Last year, residents of Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps were forcibly transferred, in the largest forcible transfer of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 1967. This raid also comes after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz issued instructions to the IOF last week to expand the scope of the military assault on the occupied West Bank and prepare to occupy another Palestinian refugee camp." **Perpetrators:** The operation began during the night of 4–5 August in Qalandiya refugee camp and Kafr Aqab, and Israeli reporting identifies the area as being under the Binyamin Regional Brigade (חטיבת בנימין). The operation involved, IDF, Shin Bet ( שב"כ ), Border Police / Magav (מג"ב) and Jerusalem District Police. Israeli reporting describes it as a coordinated operation for arrests, interrogations and "law enforcement. "The units involved include combat troops, intelligence and special units, and they operate in tandem with regular surveillance of the area." **Urgent call from Israeli and Palestinian NGO released on Augustus 6:** *Urgent Call for Diplomatic Action: Prevent Irreversible Displacement in Qalandia Refugee Camp* "Today, Israeli forces launched a large-scale military operation in Qalandia Refugee Camp. Located between Ramallah and Jerusalem, adjacent to Qalandia Checkpoint, Qalandia is one of the largest refugee camps in the central West Bank, with more than 16,000 registered Palestine refugees. The operation has involved a sustained military presence inside the camp, raids on civilian homes, arrests, and the use of residential buildings as military positions and interrogation sites. Residents report of widespread fear and uncertainty. These concerns are not speculative. Since January 2025, Israeli military operations in the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams refugee camps have resulted in the prolonged displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees, extensive destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure, and the continued denial of residents' return. More than eighteen months later, tens of thousands remain displaced and continue to face a severe humanitarian crisis. Despite sustained legal and diplomatic efforts, including proceedings before the Israeli High Court of Justice, residents have not been permitted to return to their homes. What began as military operations has evolved into a prolonged displacement and lasting transformation of entire refugee camps. Prolonged displacement, widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, and the effective emptying of entire refugee camps amount to grave infringements of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including the prohibitions on forcible transfer, collective punishment, and arbitrary interference with the right to housing and family life. Against this backdrop, recent statements by Defence Minister Israel Katz are particularly alarming. Last week, Minister Katz announced that he had instructed the military to prepare to take control of an additional refugee camp in the West Bank and displace its residents. According to media reports, the Security Cabinet has also discussed expanding military operations to other refugee camps. The ongoing operation in Qalandia therefore raises serious concerns that the approach implemented in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams is now being extended to another refugee camp. Qalandia may be One of the Last Opportunities to Prevent the Repetition of this Pattern The experience of the northern West Bank demonstrates that once refugee camps are emptied, homes demolished, and residents prevented from returning, subsequent legal proceedings and diplomatic engagement have thus far proven unable to reverse the resulting reality. The window for effective action therefore exists now, before another refugee camp undergoes the same process. At this stage, sustained and coordinated international engagement may be the only realistic means of preventing another mass displacement and the creation of further irreversible facts on the ground. We therefore urgently call upon diplomatic missions to: 1. Seek immediate clarification from the Israeli authorities regarding the objectives, scope, and anticipated duration of the operation in Qalandia Refugee Camp. 2. Convey clear opposition to any measures involving destruction of civilian property, the forcible displacement of protected persons, or the prolonged prevention of residents' return. 3. Communicate publicly and privately that the replication of the model seen in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams in Qalandia or any other refugee camp would represent a grave escalation with profound humanitarian and legal consequences. The coming days may determine whether Qalandia remains the site of a limited military operation or becomes the next refugee camp subjected to prolonged displacement and irreversible transformation. Immediate diplomatic engagement is therefore essential while there remains an opportunity to prevent another irreversible humanitarian and legal crisis. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights, Breaking the Silence, Combatants for Peace, Akevot: Institute for Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Research, Zochrot, Parents Against Child Detention, Bimkom – Planning for Human Rights, B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, Emek Shaveh, Zazim – Community Action, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, MachsomWatch, and Ir Amim."