The Israel Defense Forces made a failed bid on Wednesday to clear out an illegal settler outpost blocking the entrance to Palestinian homes in the West Bank village of Qusra, south of Nablus, after the army’s plan was apparently leaked to the media in advance, prompting dozens of settler activists to swarm to the area in support of the outpost.

A Palestinian family living in one of the homes on the outskirts of the village has been trapped inside since Sunday, after extremist settlers set up temporary structures there, staking a wildcat claim to the land. Nobody has been able to leave or enter the home since then, except for a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance on Tuesday evening, which evacuated a girl who required medical treatment and delivered food to the family. The settlers also cut off the family’s water and electricity lines.

On Wednesday morning, IDF troops and Border Police forces were deployed to Qusra to dismantle the outpost and remove the settler activists from the area, but upon their arrival, they found that the road leading to the besieged Palestinian homes had been obstructed with rocks, cutting off access.

“Border Police forces evacuated the canopy and are working to evacuate the civilians who were staying there,” the army said, referring to the outpost. “The incident is ongoing at this time, and security forces are on the ground.”

Ultimately, the soldiers were unable to clear out the outpost and left after several hours, having dismantled the temporary structures without removing the settlers.

The military had been hoping to carry out the evacuation with minimal attention and interference, but the plan was reportedly leaked to the media ahead of time, leading to the clashes between security forces and settlers.

“The evacuation of the outpost in Qusra was leaked to the media before the outpost was actually evacuated,” a security source told Army Radio.

“This caused dozens of Jewish rioters to have time to arrive at the site........

© The Times of Israel