By David Israel • August 29, 2026
Jerusalem, 29 August, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Video recordings from Saturday’s clashes in the village of Qusra in Samaria show groups of Arab villagers throwing rocks at Israeli settlers, adding a different dimension to an incident that was initially reported as an attack by dozens of masked settlers on Palestinians.
Israeli media reported that the settlers attacked Palestinians who were working in a building in the village and threw stones at the structure. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said dozens of “Israeli rioters” barricaded themselves inside the occupied building in Qusra and injured several Palestinians.
According to testimonies, the IDF detained several Palestinians inside the home where the clashes erupted and later released them several kilometers away from the village.
The incident came amid a prolonged confrontation in Qusra involving Israeli settlers, Palestinian residents and Israeli security forces since early August.
On August 9, settlers reportedly erected a tent outside Palestinian homes and were accused of cutting water and electricity lines and blocking access. The IDF later declared the area a closed military zone and deployed troops there.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly condemned the violence in Qusra on Saturday, saying that a small group of Israeli rioters had harmed the reputation of law-abiding settlers, interfered with the IDF and damaged Israel’s international standing.
“Security forces acted quickly, seized three vehicles and ended the incident within a short time,” Netanyahu said.
President Isaac Herzog also condemned the incident.
“This is a direct and flagrant defiance of the laws and values of the State of Israel. It is also another incident in a disturbing sequence of events that casts a stain on Israel’s image and demands firm and decisive action,” Herzog said.
R., an Israeli resident of Tel Talpiot Hill who was present during the clashes between Arabs and Jews in Qusra on Saturday, told TPS that the confrontation began while he and others were patrolling an area where they graze livestock.
“The incident began when we went out on a patrol of the area where we herd. Suddenly, we saw some Arabs near the spring, in a construction site where no one has been hanging around for about a year, and we knew they were going to use the area to create provocations,” he said.
“We then noticed three Arabs on the roof. We understood that they were looking to provoke us, so we drove past in the Ranger toward the spring. As we approached, the three Arabs on the roof began shouting and throwing stones at us.”
R. said the Israelis stopped before seeing a larger group approaching from the direction of the village.
“We stopped there, and suddenly about 40 Arabs appeared to our west, underneath the construction site. They started running toward us, so we turned around and fled in the Ranger. Then they began advancing on us and throwing firecrackers. More and more people started pouring out of the village. In the end, around 300 Arabs came from different directions, basically from all sides of the village.”
“They were throwing stones and firecrackers. There were huge numbers of people coming toward us,” he said.
According to R., the Israelis called for assistance while waiting for the IDF to arrive.
“Then the IDF arrived. At the same time, we called for help and brought in many more of our people to assist us, because the army had not arrived at first and we were the ones dealing with it,” he said.
“As soon as the army arrived, they decided to keep all of our people farther back. From there, a confrontation developed between the Arab crowd and the army. There were around 300 Arabs here.”
Israeli residents of the area accused the media and the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit of distorting the incident and using the Sabbath to portray Jewish residents negatively.
They also pointed to several similar incidents that took place on Saturday in the nearby villages of Jalud and Al-Mu’ayr.
Following Saturday’s clashes, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered the deployment of an additional infantry battalion to reinforce forces in the Qusra area.
