Nablus Archives - CrossFireArarbia

Israeli Army, Settlers Trap Three Palestinian Families in Their Homes for 11 Days

CrossFireArabia
August 19, 2026

CROSSFIREARABIA — Three Palestinian families, comprising 13 people, have remained trapped in their homes for 11 days in the town of Qusra in the occupied West Bank, amid an ongoing siege by Israeli forces and settlers.

The families have been confined to their homes in the Ras Al-Ain area since 9 August, with their access to food, water and other basic necessities severely restricted.

Israeli forces have declared the area a closed military zone, while settlers have established a presence around the properties. Local residents fear the move is intended to force the families from their homes and pave the way for the establishment of a new settlement outpost on their land.

Qusra Mayor Abdul Azim Al-Wadi said Israeli soldiers and settlers continue to surround the homes, preventing the families from moving freely.

“The three families are facing difficult conditions due to the continued siege and restrictions on their movement,” Al-Wadi said.

According to reports, Israeli soldiers also entered one of the Palestinian homes and turned it into a military position, while settlers erected tents around the properties, further restricting the residents’ ability to leave.

The standoff has heightened fears among residents that the families are being subjected to sustained pressure to abandon their homes and land.

Qusra, south of Nablus, has repeatedly been the scene of confrontations and settler attacks, reflecting the growing tensions facing Palestinian communities in parts of the occupied West Bank. For further details, see The Palestine Chronicle.

Culture News

‘We Think of Hanan Ashrawi Only as a Palestinian’

marwan
August 18, 2026

Helen Harb:

This is my third post highlighting remarkable Christian Arabs whose lives and achievements have made a lasting impact.

Today, I’d like to recognize Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian Christian woman whose voice has been heard around the world.

Born Hanan Daoud Mikhael in Nablus, Palestine, in 1946, she grew up in a Christian family and spent much of her childhood in Ramallah—the town where I was born!

Dr. Ashrawi is an educator, scholar, political leader, diplomat, human-rights advocate, and mother. She earned degrees from the American University of Beirut and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

She taught at Birzeit University, where she became chair of the English Department and later Dean of the Faculty of Arts.

Dr. Ashrawi is also an author. She has written about Palestinian politics, culture, literature, occupation, and the peace process. Her memoir, This Side of Peace: A Personal Account, recounts her political involvement and her experiences representing Palestinians during an important period in their history.

Dr. Ashrawi became internationally known during the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference, where she served as a spokesperson for the Palestinian delegation. She helped bring Palestinian history, rights, and the desire for self-determination directly to an international audience.

Dr. Ashrawi also helped establish MIFTAH, an organization that promotes human rights, democracy, good government, and the participation of women and young people in Palestinian society. Interestingly, miftah means “key” in Arabic, which is an important symbol because it represents the homes and villages lost during the Nakba in 1948. When hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled during the war, many families took their house keys with them, believing they would soon return. In many cases, they were never allowed to go back. So, the key or miftah came to symbolize home, memory, displacement, and hope, and a claimed right of return.

What makes her story especially meaningful to me is that she is a Palestinian Christian woman from the land where Christianity began. Palestinian Christians have very deep roots in the Holy Land and have contributed to its faith, history, culture, education, and public life since the earliest days of Christianity, when Jesus walked this earth.

For decades, Hanan Ashrawi has used education, diplomacy, public service, writing, and advocacy to share the Palestinian story with the world. She will turn 80 on October 8, 2026, and continues to speak and write about Palestinian rights, peace, and political reform.

She broke barriers for Palestinian women and became one of the most recognizable Palestinian voices on the international stage.

Her story deserves to be known.

Culture

Tied to a Chair in Chains

CrossFireArabia
August 18, 2026

Painting made by Raneem Salah, an art student at the Najah National University in Nablus. She is studying there at the School of Fine Arts and lives in Tulkarem.

News

UN: Humanitarian Access Blocked by 900 Israeli Checkpoints

CrossFireArabia
August 14, 2026

Humanitarian operations in the occupied West Bank are being delayed and restricted by a network of more than 900 physical obstacles, including checkpoints, gates and roadblocks, the UN said Friday.

Daniela Gross De Almeida, an associate spokesperson, told reporters that the restrictions are limiting humanitarian access and leaving people in need without adequate assistance.

“Our humanitarian partners warn that aid work is being delayed and limited by a network of over 900 physical obstacles including checkpoints, gates, roadblocks, and other restrictions. This hinders humanitarian access and leaves people in need underserved,” De Almeida said.

In the village of Qusra, near Nablus, aid and municipal workers have been unable to reach three Palestinian families who have been trapped in their homes since Tuesday, she said, adding that the families became isolated following the establishment of a settlement outpost near their homes and tightened access restrictions in the area.

“Our colleagues warn that efforts to protect Palestinians have been ineffective, with settlers reportedly reinstalling a tent that Israeli forces had dismantled yesterday,” she said.

Turning to Gaza, she said humanitarians continue to provide vital aid to people in the besieged Strip, despite persistent insecurity and restrictions.

“Last week, we and our partners mobilized rapid support for people who had lost their shelters or were displaced again due to attacks, domestic fires, and other incidents. In more than a dozen reported incidents, people were displaced and lost their belongings due to attacks, impacting nearly 290 households,” she said. Anadolu

Uncategorized

Israeli Army Seizes 16 Homes in The West Bank

CrossFireArabia
August 13, 2026

The Israeli army seized 16 Palestinian homes in and around Qusra in the northern occupied West Bank and converted them into military posts, a local official said Thursday.

Abdul Azim al-Wadi, head of the Qusra village council, told Anadolu that the army was continuing its military offensive in the town, south of Nablus, and had informed the council that it would last until Sunday morning.

Large Israeli forces, accompanied by infantry troops, military vehicles and bulldozers, entered Qusra and deployed across the town and its outskirts, he said.

Al-Wadi said the Israeli army told the council it was seeking to dismantle an illegal outpost established by occupiers near the town amid escalating tensions in the area. He said three Palestinian families, including one with US citizenship, remained trapped inside their homes for a 4th consecutive day.

An Anadolu correspondent saw Israeli troops stationed inside several homes, while some families left their houses to stay with relatives.

Since Sunday, Israeli occupiers have erected a tent and temporary structures among Palestinian homes in the Ras al-Ain area on the outskirts of Qusra, according to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.

The occupiers also blocked roads leading to the area with rocks and surrounded three homes, the commission said.

It warned that the attacks could develop into a prolonged siege intended to isolate the families and force them from their homes.

The occupiers have obstructed the delivery of food, water and medicine to the homes, while water and electricity lines have also been cut, it added.

Earlier Thursday, large Israeli forces raided Qusra, imposed a curfew and ordered businesses to close amid a widespread deployment of infantry troops, military vehicles and bulldozers.

The developments come amid escalating occupier attacks in the area and Palestinian concerns that attempts to establish the outpost could become permanent and lead to the seizure of Palestinian homes and land.

The commission said occupiers had attempted eight times to establish an outpost in the Jabal Ras al-Ain area, citing its strategic location on high ground overlooking a large area.

Attempts to raid and seize the homes began about four months ago, prompting family members to take turns staying in them to prevent their takeover, it added.

The commission warned of a repeat of events in the nearby village of Jalud, where it said occupiers seized a home belonging to Mahmoud al-Tubasi’s family on July 22 after besieging it for more than three months.

According to the commission’s latest figures, occupiers carried out 12,506 attacks from October 2023 through June 2026, killing 52 Palestinians and setting 890 fires that damaged Palestinian property and farmland.

It also documented 2,256 attacks across the occupied West Bank in July, including 1,458 by Israeli forces and 798 by occupiers. Anadolu