Israeli settlers have been besieging two Palestinian families in their homes in the occupied West Bank since Sunday, with the families saying their supplies were running out and rights groups urging the authorities to step in. They live in what is known as Area B, part of the West Bank under Palestinian administrative control and Israeli security control. On Monday, Israeli settlers blocked Israeli journalists from the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper from trying to reach the Palestinian properties. That settler attack was one of many that followed on from an incident in the Palestinian village of Tal. According to the UN's figures, 76 Palestinians – including 18 children - have been killed in the West Bank this year, by Israeli forces or settlers.