‘Not our way’: Israel clears out unauthorized Qusra outpost

Israeli security forces cleared Israelis from an unauthorized outpost and a sheep pen next to the Palestinian village of Qusra overnight Thursday, dismantling the encampment and confiscating equipment as tensions over the site continued to draw military and diplomatic attention. Security forces also dismantled a second unauthorized outpost near the Palestinian village of Jalud.

The Israel Defense Forces said both outposts had been established in Area B, where the Palestinian Authority exercises administrative control and Israel retains security responsibility. One Israeli was detained during the overnight operation.

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The IDF was also preparing for the possibility that activists could attempt to reestablish the Qusra encampment.

Israelis entering Palestinian homes and areas in the Samaria region was “illegal, obscene and unacceptable,” said the military. A closed military zone order was imposed, barring anyone who is not a local resident from the area.

The military said it “strongly condemns” such incidents and that all those involved would be dealt with in cooperation with the security forces.

R., an Israeli shepherd who lived at the unauthorized hilltop outpost next to Qusra before it was dismantled, told The Press Service of Israel that the response was disproportionate.

“I don’t understand why Trump and all those people are interested in this,” he said. “We just built a shed and a few mattresses for a place for the sheep during the heat. They brought Golani and the whole world to evacuate us,” referring to the IDF’s Golani Brigade.

However, Yisrael Gantz, chairman of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization representing Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria, also criticized the actions of the Israelis involved.

He described the events as “serious and not our way.”

“There is no place to privately decide on establishing a hilltop in the yard of a house,” said Gantz. “There is no justification for violence against uninvolved parties or against security forces.”

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also condemned the events. Huckabee said Israeli security forces had arrived at the scene at the request of the United States.

“The actions of those who attacked this family’s home are criminal,” Huckabee wrote, describing the incident as “a shocking act of terrorism designed to intimidate and harass this family.”

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