Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Israel’s crackdown on settlers in the West Bank; more details on the defense agreement among Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan; and the spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Israel’s crackdown on settlers in the West Bank; more details on the defense agreement among Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan; and the spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Have tips or feedback? Hit reply with your thoughts.

Violence in the West Bank

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday dismantled “illegal outposts” set up by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Qusra over the weekend. The Palestinian village of 5,000 is becoming a major flash point after a group of settlers on Sunday built encampments surrounding three isolated houses on the town’s outskirts. They cut off water and electricity into the houses and blockaded the roads, trapping two Palestinian families and five visiting Italian nationals inside.

At least one of the homes surrounded by settlers is owned by an American citizen, pulling the United States into the dispute and provoking a rare rebuke from U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, who called the settlers “terrorists” and denounced their “thuggish behavior” on social media. The homeowner, a Palestinian American who was born in Qusra and now lives in Toledo, Ohio, watched the siege from the United States via home security cameras while his brother and nephew remained inside.

Qusra, near the city of Nablus, is part of Area B—West Bank territory under Palestinian civil control and Israeli military control, where Jewish settlements are not allowed. The Israeli military condemned the settlers’ actions on Tuesday and declared the area around the homes a restricted military zone. The settlers dug in and defied the order the following day, prompting clashes with the IDF and forcing the military to back........

© Foreign Policy