Israeli occupiers establish illegal settlement outpost in yard of Palestinian home in West Bank

Israeli occupiers established an illegal settlement outpost in the yard of a Palestinian home in the northern occupied West Bank, with Israeli soldiers filmed sitting and praying alongside them, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Monday, Anadolu reports.

Occupiers established an illegal outpost on Sunday in the yard of a house in the Palestinian village of Qusra, south of Nablus, and blocked the road leading to it with stones, the newspaper said.

Israeli soldiers were also filmed sitting alongside the occupiers and joining them in prayer, it added.

The outpost was established near two isolated Palestinian homes. The roadblock cut off the family living in one of the houses from the village, which lies in Area B, leaving its members afraid to leave their home, according to the daily.

Occupiers were seen in the house’s yard on Sunday afternoon, and a village resident said they attempted to damage the infrastructure.

Around 40 minutes after residents contacted Israeli police, occupiers wearing military uniforms arrived and joined the group, Haaretz reported.

The occupiers erected a canopy beside the house’s wall, while those in military uniform joined them in prayer, it added.

In an investigation published in late December 2025, Haaretz said occupiers, with support from the Israeli army, were forcing Palestinians from their homes in Area B through harassment, threats, violence and vandalism.

Under the 1995 Oslo II Accord, the West Bank is divided into Areas A, B and C. Area A is under Palestinian civil and security control, while Area B is under Palestinian civil administration and Israeli security control. Area C, which constitutes around 60% of the territory, is under full Israeli control.

On July 26, occupiers set fire to two mosques in Qusra and Kafr Sur, southeast of Tulkarem. The fires caused extensive damage, while offensive slogans were sprayed and villagers’ property was vandalized and stolen, according to Haaretz.

Israeli security data disclosed Monday showed that 660 incidents of occupier violence against Palestinians were recorded in the occupied West Bank during the first half of 2026.

The figure represents a 63% increase from the 405 incidents documented during the second half of 2025 and a 50% rise from the 440 recorded in the first half of that year.

The data also showed that six Palestinians were killed and 140 injured in occupier attacks during the first half of 2026, compared with no fatalities and 82 injuries in the preceding six months.

Around 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in 156 settlements and 360 outposts across the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian figures.

All Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law.

Since October 2023, attacks by the Israeli army and settlers in the West Bank have killed more than 1,182 Palestinians, injured around 13,000 and led to the detention of more than 24,600 others, according to official Palestinian figures.