Qusra clashes: Activists push back on US claims of ‘settler terrorism’

US Ambassador Huckabee calls Israelis involved in clashes near Qusra “terrorists,” but activists say the confrontation was sparked by repeated attacks on local Jews.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Israeli settlement activists have pushed back against criticism of members of the so-called “Hilltop Youth” involved in an ongoing confrontation on a strategically important ridge in Samaria, after the IDF, the United States Ambassador to Israel, and even settlement leaders condemned activists for allegedly laying siege to two private Palestinian homes.

On Sunday, Israeli civilians erected several makeshift structures on Jabal Ayn Ayna, the second tallest mountain in Samaria, which overlooks the Shilo bloc of Jewish communities surrounding the ancient Israelite city Shiloh.

The structures were erected near two Palestinian houses built on Jabal Ayn Ayna, after settlement activists say Palestinian terrorists used the houses for shooting and stone-throwing attacks on Jews.

Clashes broke out between Israeli civilians and stone-throwing Palestinians on Jabal Ayn Ayna, leading the IDF to dismantle several structures set up by Israeli “Hilltop Youth” activists.

According to an IDF spokesperson, the demolitions were carried out overnight between Wednesday and Thursday.

One Israeli civilian was detained, the army said.

Earlier this week, Qusai Abu Ridi, a Palestinian accused of taking part in the brutal assault of a Jewish sheperd recently, has been staying in one of the houses on Jabal Ayn Ayna, which he claims is owned by his brother, Loui Ridi, who resides in Ohio.

Abu Ridi has accused the Hilltop Youth activists of laying siege to the home.

Media reports in Israel and abroad published since Sunday have been based primarily on Abu Ridi’s allegations, and incorrectly claimed that the Israeli activists had laid siege to the nearby Palestinian town of Qusra.

News outlets also falsely claimed that Israeli activists had cut the water and power supply to the Arab outpost on Jabal Ayn Ayna.

On Wednesday, the IDF said that the Palestinian residents themselves pointed out that their water and electric infrastructures were both intact.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee castigated the Israeli activists who set up the makeshift outpost on Jabal Ayn Ayna, calling them “Israeli terrorists.”

“Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting. No excuse for such thuggish behavior. But saying @USAmbIsrael or @usembassyjlm doesn’t care or hasn’t done anything is simply untrue,” Huckabee wrote on X Thursday morning.

Israeli settlement activist Elisha Yered has pushed back against allegations of “settler violence” or intimidation, releasing footage from recent stone-throwing attacks from the Palestinian houses in question.

Yered also reported that Abu Ridi was arrested recently for a mob attack on a Jewish shepherd. Yered published an image taken from a video recording of the assault, showing Abu Ridi and another Palestinian man holding the victim while a third Palestinian appeared to beat him.

“An innocent Arab from the village of Qusra suffering from settler harassment? Here are a few details they forgot to tell you,” Yered wrote.

“Abu Ridi and other rioters from the village carried out a brutal lynching of a Jewish shepherd. Three of them violently pinned him down, another pummeled him with his fists, and another terrorist raised a hoe toward his head.”

Qusai Abu Ridi joins a lynch mob assault on a Jewish shepherd in Samaria. (X/Elisha Yered)

“Abu Ridi was arrested after the violent attack thanks to the footage, but, absurdly, he was later released to his home.”

The Abu Ridi home is regularly used by Arab stone-throwers to attack Jewish hikers walking to a nearby spring, Yered added.

Gunshots have also been fired from the home, Yered said.

“Unsurprisingly, the violent attacks and stone-throwing quickly escalated to gunfire as well. About three weeks ago, terrorists in the vicinity of Abu Ridi’s home fired around ten shots, apparently from a handgun, toward the Tel Talpiot hilltop, which sits at the summit of the mountain.”

“The guard still managed to pull out his phone, record the final shot and summon IDF forces, but the terrorists have not been caught to this day.”

Yered published a video recording which captured the sound of what he said was the final shot fired during the shooting incident.

Regarding this week’s confrontation, Yered denied that Hilltop Youth activists had laid siege to the homes, and said that the homes had been built illegally, with the goal of taking control of the strategically important high-ground.

Binyamin Regional Council head and Yesha Council chairman Israel Ganz  distance the settlement movement from the events on Jabal Ayn Ayna, saying: “This is not our way.”

Ganz did note, however, that the Palestinian outpost itself was illegal.

“There is no room for unilateral decisions to set up an outpost in the backyard of a house, even if the house itself is illegal or was built in order to seize land.”

Judea and SamariaMike HuckabeePalestinian terrorQusra