A US citizen who owns a home in the West Bank says Israeli settlers have besieged his family's property for 12 days while Israeli soldiers stood by, a grim sign of how little protection American citizenship offers in the occupied territories.

• Louis Riddi, an Ohio business owner, flew to the West Bank after watching settlers harass his brother on home security cameras for eight months.
• Settlers cut the water and power, damaged the property, then pitched a tent at the front of the house on August 9.
• Israeli soldiers responded by declaring the area a closed military zone, trapping the family inside instead of removing the settlers.
• Food and supplies can't get in, and Riddi's 83-year-old mother has been blocked from visiting him.
• Riddi is asking the US embassy and Ambassador Mike Huckabee for on-the-ground action, not just statements condemning settler violence.

Outlook: The family fears that once soldiers pull out and cameras leave, they will be alone with the settlers and at real risk of violence.