Palestinian American raises US flag in Qusra to defend besieged West Bank home

Standoff at the Ridi residence

Loui Ridi, a 46-year-old Palestinian American residing in Toledo, Ohio, returned to his native village of Qusra in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Monday, 17 August 2026. Ridi departed on a flight from Detroit to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv after watching security camera footage for seven consecutive nights while Israeli settlers surrounded three Palestinian homes in the village. Upon reaching Qusra on Monday evening, Ridi reunited with his mother and sister before heading toward his residence. His brother, Qusai Abu Rida, and his teenage nephew had stayed inside the property to protect it from takeover. Ridi waited approximately 100 metres from the entrance for 30 minutes until an Israeli military vehicle escorted him through the concrete gate at sunset, after which he mounted the roof to hoist an American flag.

Orchard confrontation

The confrontation intensified on the morning of Tuesday, 18 August 2026, when Ridi went for a walk among his cherry and fig trees with his nephew Ahmad. A settler holding what appeared to be a Torah scroll approached from an adjacent hillside while filming Ridi on a mobile phone. A tense verbal dispute ensued, during which Ridi filmed the encounter and ordered the settler off his land. Family members, including Yousif Hassan, joined to record the incident as the settler moved toward the residential building. Israeli soldiers subsequently arrived in a military vehicle, declaring the location a closed military zone and instructing the settler to withdraw.

“If I need to walk outside of my house, I'm not able. I have to get a permission and co-ordination and it's going to take hours if it's even possible to leave.”

Military enforcement and property damage

Soldiers instructed Ridi and his relatives to remain inside the house to avoid further disputes, advising them to rest indoors while asking the settlers to leave the area peacefully. Ridi protested against the army response, showing soldiers the damaged perimeter fence and gate that he had constructed himself. He criticised the military for refusing to arrest the settler for trespassing and vandalism, stating that troops routinely interact amicably with settlers rather than detaining them. Qusra village head Abdul Asim al-Wadi confirmed that the settler blockade reached its tenth day without intervention by Israeli police or soldiers to remove the surrounding groups, who had attempted to cut off food and water supplies to the homes.

“I came back here last night, I was in America. I planted all this before I left, and now I find everything damaged.”

West Bank settlement pressures

The standoff in Qusra reflects ongoing land disputes across the West Bank, where an estimated 2.8 million Palestinians live under Israeli military administration alongside 560,000 Israeli settlers residing in official settlements and farming outposts. In the neighbouring community of Jalud, settlers besieged a residential property last month until the Palestinian occupants abandoned the house permanently. Official Palestinian records state that 87 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers or soldiers in 2026. During the same period, three Israelis have died in violence across the territory, including two killed during a clash in July 2026.

Palestinians killed by settlers or soldiers87

Israelis killed3

Palestinians killed by settlers or soldiers

87

Israelis killed

3

Data from the article text