Kathmandu— Loai Ridi, a resident of Toledo, Ohio, returned to his ancestral village of Qusra in the occupied West Bank on August 20th after learning it was under siege by colonizers and facing restrictions from Israeli occupation forces. The Abu Ridi and Hassan families have been surrounded for over a week, with roads blocked, utilities cut off, and access restricted, as settlers attempt to force them from their homes. Ridi, who built a house on the land for his daughters, flew from Detroit after watching the events unfold via security cameras, determined to defend his family’s property despite the dangers and limited aid reaching those trapped inside.

Escalating Tensions in Qusra

On or around August 9th, settlers from nearby outposts began blockading roads leading to Qusra, damaging infrastructure, and surrounding the homes of the Abu Ridi and Hassan families. The goal, according to reports, is to drive residents off their land so it can be seized. Loai Ridi’s brother, Qusay, and nephew were with him in the besieged house, while his 83-year-old mother resides nearby in another home also under siege. The area has been declared a closed military zone by Israeli forces.

A Community Divided and United

Ridi, who owns several gas stations and car washes across Ohio and Indiana, had begun construction on the family home in 2023 to provide his daughters with a connection to their heritage. Construction halted due to fears for worker safety and repeated sabotage of utilities. He received support from both the Palestinian community in Toledo, including Afaf Adwan who has experienced loss in Gaza, and the Jewish Community of Toledo, which condemned the violence perpetrated by the settlers. The local Lucas County government recently decided not to renew a five-million-dollar bond with Israel following pressure from the BDS movement.

Limited International Response

The United Nations delivered some food supplies approximately five or six days into the siege, but those provisions are dwindling. U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee issued a statement calling the actions of some settlers “Israeli terrorists,” distinguishing them from what he termed “real settlers.” However, Craig Mokhiber, former director of the New York office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, criticized this language as minimizing the broader issue of Israeli colonization and labeling the perpetrators accurately as violent Zionist mobs and illegal paramilitary forces. The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem has only stated it is “monitoring” the situation without offering further assistance.

A Pattern of Displacement

The siege of Qusra follows a similar incident last month in the neighboring village of Jalud, indicating a coordinated strategy to displace Palestinians. Rights groups report that over 2,200 Palestinians have been displaced by settler violence and access restrictions in the first half of 2026 alone. Ridi’s return to Qusra, while not altering the power dynamics on the ground, serves to expose the ongoing land theft and highlight the resilience of those determined to remain.

The siege of Qusra continues, with limited aid reaching residents and international response remaining largely insufficient. Loai Ridi remains at his family’s home, symbolizing a broader Palestinian resistance to displacement and a determination to maintain their connection to ancestral lands.

(With inputs from CounterPunch)

Originally published on abcnews.com.np.