Residents of Turmus Ayya, a Palestinian village where approximately 80% of inhabitants hold US citizenship, have experienced a surge in violence attributed to Israeli settlers in recent months. The village sits near an illegal Israeli outpost and Shilo, a settlement that has attracted American residents, creating a situation where US citizens live on opposing sides of a territorial dispute.
Attacks on village residents have included nighttime intimidation, gunfire, property damage, and firebombings. In one incident, settlers attempted to set fire to the home of Maisoon Ali, a 60-year-old American retiree from Vienna, Virginia. Israeli prosecutors have charged six settlers with terrorism-related offenses in connection with attacks in the nearby village of Deir Dibwan, though details remain unclear due to reporting restrictions. Village council head Yaser Alkam, a semi-retired attorney who previously lived in California, has characterized the situation as one-sided violence with limited defensive capacity available to residents.
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has visited Shilo twice in recent years and publicly stated support for Israeli settlement, telling residents that President Trump backs their presence in the territory. However, residents report limited embassy assistance when violence occurs. While US officials occasionally intervened in specific incidents, including helping remove Israeli military from a home in late July, nine Palestinian Americans have been killed in the West Bank since 2022. Residents express frustration that embassy contacts often result in referrals to local authorities rather than direct protection or intervention.
The State Department stated that US citizens in the West Bank have access to consular services and that the administration condemns violence by any party. Officials reiterated that the US does not support Israeli annexation of the West Bank and maintains that regional stability serves American interests. Residents, however, believe the US could do more to restrain settlers and the Israeli government, and some feel abandoned despite voting for the current administration. Fear of further attacks has led villagers to install security measures such as barbed wire and metal shutters, transforming daily life in ways residents find deeply troubling.
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