Since Aug. 9, a home in the West Bank village of Qusra has been under siege by Israeli settlers. The resident, a U.S. citizen living in Toledo, Ohio, arrived carrying an American flag, hoping his citizenship would afford protection denied to his Palestinian identity. Israeli settlers have surrounded the property, destroyed fences, and cut off water and electricity.

The resident describes a system where Palestinians live under military law while settlers operate under civilian law, facing checkpoints and movement restrictions. International human rights groups have called this system apartheid. The resident recounts that settlers follow a playbook of building illegal outposts, which are later retroactively legalized, forcing Palestinians from their homes.

More than 36,000 Palestinians in the West Bank have been forcibly displaced in one year alone. Although the Israeli military dispersed some settlers and detained one, the resident reports they returned and remain under military watch. The article concludes with a reference to the prime minister and president of Israel, highlighting the ongoing political context of the settlement expansion.