Large forces arrived in Qusra in the dead of night - the political damage is already done
According to the head of the Qusra council, the forces that arrived to evacuate the outpost are still in the area, and residents were instructed to avoid "unnecessary vehicle movement." A hilltop activist claimed that the forces "sowed destruction and confiscated everything they saw," while in the US there is anger, labeling the extremists who established the outpost as "Israeli terrorists."
Security forces arrived last night (between Wednesday and Thursday) to evacuate the outpost established near Palestinian homes in Qusra in the West Bank, which had left several Palestinian residents under siege for four days. The failure to evacuate the outpost for such a long time sparked anger in the international community and led to a sharp American statement in which the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, defined the founders of the outpost as "Israeli terrorists" and called on the state to "remove them" from the site.
Hilltop activist Elisha Yered wrote that "Magav (Border Police) officers raided three settlement points in Binyamin and Samaria last night along with Civil Administration inspectors and destroyed them." According to him, among other things, they "sowed destruction across the entire hill and confiscated everything they saw - including blankets, mattresses, and electrical appliances."
However, the head of the Qusra council, Abd al-Azim Wadi, said that the outpost has not yet been evacuated, and large IDF forces are present at the site - both in the village and on the mountain. According to him, the Civil Administration said that the extremists would likely be evacuated from there finally today, and asked the residents that there be no "unnecessary vehicle movement within the village."
The White House and officials in the American administration and Congress were outraged by the incident in Qusra and demanded clarifications from Israel. Administration officials said in conversations with Israeli officials that they are shocked by the incident in Qusra and wondered about the reason for the matter. One of the besieged homes, it should be noted, is owned by an American citizen living in Ohio - who told Ynet that he also turned to Congress on the matter and told of severe violence previously used against his family by settlers.
The US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, also addressed the issue. According to him, the claim that the US Embassy in Jerusalem is not involved in the events is incorrect:
"The IDF and the police arrived at our request to remove the Israeli terrorists who are doing this. The actions of those who carried out this horrific terrorist act, intended to threaten and harass the family, are repulsive. There is no excuse for such bullying behavior."
Huckabee is a staunch supporter of Israel and has declared repeatedly in the past that "Judea and Samaria are an inseparable part of the State of Israel and everyone needs to understand that." His sharp statement indicates how much the affair in Qusra is causing Israel political damage in the US and the world, as many wonder how it is possible that the security forces have not yet evacuated the extremists who established an illegal outpost near the homes of several Palestinian families.
