Palestinian American confronts Israeli settlers who besieged his home

Lou Ridi, a Palestinian American whose home in the West Bank has been besieged by Israeli settlers, said the last week has been "terrifying" for him and others in the village.

Ridi traveled from the U.S. to visit his home, where his brother has been living. When he arrived at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport from Ohio on Monday, Ridi told reporters he had been watching the confrontation play out remotely on his security cameras.

"I have been watching this live for many days and now it is the second week, I can’t sleep," he said. "I can’t let the settlers to steal my house while I was watching … so I prefer to be with [my brother] in the house and not stay watching on the security cameras."

Videos verified and shared with ABC News have shown groups of settlers surrounding multiple homes in the village, with those inside saying they were unable to leave their homes for several days.

The IDF has declared the area a "closed military zone" but so far has failed to disperse the settlers. Videos have shown several soldiers shaking hands, sharing drinks and praying with the settlers camped outside the Palestinians’ homes.

Last week, Ridi told ABC News it was a "terrifying moment" watching the settlers attack his home.

The Palestinian families, who have said they are living in a "state of terror," have accused the settlers of cutting off water lines and preventing them from leaving.

On Tuesday, Reuters reporters filmed as Ridi confronted the settlers outside of his house. The dispute soon grew heated.

"You came to make a mess, ha?" an Israeli settler can be heard saying.

"You are a terrorist settler, you are a garbage settler, you know what that means?" Ridi says in return. "You stink. Move, move."

Israeli soldiers soon intervened and the settler moved away from the house. A tent that was erected near the village's homes has been taken down, but settlers continue to enter and leave the area, witnesses told ABC News.

The prolonged confrontation has drawn both national and international attention against a backdrop of escalating violence and displacement for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Last week, the IDF released a statement saying that "dozens of illegal structures erected by Israeli civilians have been removed from the area in an effort to curb this serious phenomenon, protect the residents, and maintain public order." However, after more than a week, there still appear to be Israeli settlers in the area.

On Monday, the U.N. said the siege in Qusra had "eased" and food and water had been delivered to trapped families. U.N. teams still reported that three Palestinian families "remained surrounded by a heavy presence of Israeli soldiers and settlers."

The siege has also drawn the ire of Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel. He criticized the actions of "Israeli terrorists" but also said that on social media that "the IDF & Israel Police have gone at our request to remove the Israeli terrorists doing this."

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also claimed that settler violence against Palestinians is the work of only 150 "juveniles" despite international criticism of Israel’s policies in the West Bank.