The United States wants Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly condemn Israeli settlers who have besieged Palestinians in their homes in the occupied West Bank, US and Israeli officials said Friday.
Settlers have been encircling three homes in the village of Qusra for almost a week after cutting off water and electricity, trapping Palestinian residents. Rights groups say settlers are mounting a wider effort to seize land in the area.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a strong supporter of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, publicly condemned the settlers on Thursday, calling them "Israeli terrorists".
A US official and an Israeli official said White House officials were pressing Netanyahu to publicly condemn the settlers' actions. Washington began protesting after learning that the home of a Palestinian-American was among those targeted, the officials said.
Netanyahu has not commented on the siege. Neither his office nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment.
"We are very afraid," said Aysha Hassan, a Palestinian woman living in one of the three besieged homes.
"There is nothing new. It's been like this for six days...the settlers are still here."
Hassan said residents had received some food, bottled water and canned goods from foreign and Israeli activists on Friday, although the military prevented activists from delivering the aid directly to the homes, saying the area was a closed military zone.
The United Nations said about 15 Palestinians, including two children, were trapped inside their homes without running water or electricity.
The military said soldiers had been deployed in Qusra since Thursday to protect residents and maintain security. It also said it was taking disciplinary action against personnel shown praying with settlers earlier in the week.
Violence by Jewish settlers in the West Bank has increased in recent years. Rights groups say settlers have sought to seize properties around Qusra and neighboring Jalud as part of efforts to connect settler outposts and larger settlements.
The West Bank is home to about three million Palestinians and 500,000 settlers. There are about 146 settlements and 390 smaller outposts in the territory, according to the Israeli settlement watchdog group Peace Now.
