Qusra (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – The Israeli military said Wednesday it would send more troops to try to impose order on defiant settlers after failing to end their blockade of Palestinians’ homes in the occupied West Bank.

The siege began on Sunday, when a group of settlers set up a makeshift tent near houses in the Palestinian village of Qusra, just south of Nablus, blocking essential supplies from entering.

“We have received no food and no medicine,” Qusai Abu Rida, a Palestinian trapped inside one of the houses, told AFP by telephone, adding that he had only managed to secure electricity thanks to solar panels.

The Israeli military condemned the settlers’ actions and declared the area a “closed military zone”, removing their tent on Wednesday morning.

But by mid-afternoon, an AFP photographer at the scene said the military had left and the tent had been removed, but that the settlers were still there.

Abu Rida said the settlers had chairs and blankets.

“The army has withdrawn, and so far we are still besieged, with the settlers at our doorstep,” he said.

The military announced later Wednesday that it would send an additional infantry battalion and that more soldiers would be on standby.

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The Israeli military a day earlier said it had received reports of settlers entering and taking control of Palestinian homes and land in the area.

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