Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
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Loui Ridi, a Palestinian American man who lives in Ohio, traveled to the occupied West Bank on Monday to help relatives defend their family home in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus. Israeli settlers have surrounded the home, which Ridi owns, for more than a week. Settlers have besieged several Palestinian houses in the village, trapping people inside and cutting off water and electricity in some cases.
"I'm not getting no protection here. I still fear for my life. I still fear for my family's life here," says Ridi, who joins _Democracy Now!_ from the occupied West Bank. Ridi has raised an American flag on his home and reached out to the U.S. Embassy for help. "The IDF is not even making it better here. They're not allowing us to leave the house. They're not allowing anyone to come to my house freely," says Ridi, explaining that getting food to the house takes "hours, if not days."
The settlers "can act like this because of the active support from the Israeli government that gives them weapons, gives them ATVs," says Israeli reporter Oren Ziv, who has traveled to Qusra twice in recent days. Ziv says the Israeli government also supports "the establishment of more and more [settler] outposts that are kind of front bases for these terror attacks."
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Loui Ridi, a Palestinian American man who lives in Ohio, traveled to the occupied West Bank on Monday to help relatives defend their family home in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus. Israeli settlers have surrounded the home, which Ridi owns, for more than a week. Settlers have besieged several Palestinian houses in the village, trapping people inside and cutting off water and electricity in some cases.
"I'm not getting no protection here. I still fear for my life. I still fear for my family's life here," says Ridi, who joins _Democracy Now!_ from the occupied West Bank. Ridi has raised an American flag on his home and reached out to the U.S. Embassy for help. "The IDF is not even making it better here. They're not allowing us to leave the house. They're not allowing anyone to come to my house freely," says Ridi, explaining that getting food to the house takes "hours, if not days."
The settlers "can act like this because of the active support from the Israeli government that gives them weapons, gives them ATVs," says Israeli reporter Oren Ziv, who has traveled to Qusra twice in recent days. Ziv says the Israeli government also supports "the establishment of more and more [settler] outposts that are kind of front bases for these terror attacks."
Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.
Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: democracynow.org/subscribe
