Join AJP Action, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and the IMEU Policy Project in telling Congress to hold Israel accountable for the theft of Palestinian land and the violent siege of a Palestinian-American home in Qusra. The U.S. must stop allowing the Israeli military and settlers to seize Palestinian land and must stop enabling the actions of violent settlers.
ACT NOW: CLICK HERE TO EMAIL CONGRESS TODAY!
Loui Ridi is a Palestinian-American U.S. citizen, small business owner, husband, and father from Toledo, Ohio. Earlier this month, he traveled to the occupied West Bank after watching through security cameras as Israeli settlers surrounded his family’s home in the Palestinian village of Qusra. His brother and teenage nephew remained inside the property as settlers encircled the area and restricted residents’ ability to leave.
For more than two weeks, mobs of Israeli settlers have reportedly surrounded Ridi’s family home and the homes of other Palestinian families in Qusra, trapping residents inside and restricting access to daily necessities. Ridi returned from the United States to help protect his family and property amid fears that settlers would forcibly seize the land.
This is part of Israel’s broader effort to force Palestinian families from their homes and communities so that settlers can take over more Palestinian land permanently. Palestinians have the right to remain in their homes, on their land, and to live in safety, dignity, and freedom. The ongoing siege in Qusra has become a symbol of the wider crisis facing Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank.
The case has drawn growing national and international attention as settler violence in the West Bank continues to escalate. Advocates are calling on U.S. officials to intervene and ensure that Loui Ridi, his family, and other residents of Qusra are protected from violence, intimidation, and displacement.
Protecting Americans abroad should be a top priority of our elected officials. Members of Congress must act now to end Israel’s siege of Qusra and protect Loui and his family. If American officials are serious about ending Israel’s violence against Palestinians, including Palestinian Americans, they must stop providing a blank check to Israel and sanction illegal Israeli settlers responsible for attacks, land theft, and the forced displacement of Palestinian families.
Do Not Wait to Take Action: Congress must hear directly from constituents that the siege of Qusra is unacceptable and that Palestinian-American citizens deserve the same protection afforded to any other American abroad.
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]