Residents of Turmus Ayya, a Palestinian village where approximately 80% of the population holds US citizenship, report experiencing intensifying violence from Israeli settlers in recent years. The village is situated near Shilo, an Israeli settlement, with an illegal outpost serving as a focal point for attacks. Incidents include nighttime raids involving gunshots, intimidation tactics, and vandalism of homes. Village council head Yaser Alkam, a former California resident, stated that the situation involves American citizens attacking American citizens over land disputes.
The Trump administration, through US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, has maintained close ties with Israeli settlements in the region. Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, has expressed public support for Jewish presence in the territory that some refer to as Judea and Samaria. The article notes that US financial support, both through military aid and charitable organizations, has contributed to Israeli land acquisition efforts. Some residents speculate that attackers may themselves be American citizens.
According to the State Department, nine Palestinian Americans have been killed in the West Bank since 2022. While US embassy officials have occasionally intervened during specific incidents—most recently in late July regarding a military occupation of a doctor’s residence—such interventions remain inconsistent. The State Department stated it does not support Israeli annexation of the West Bank and condemned violence by any party in the region. However, residents expressed frustration that the current administration removed several settlers from sanctions lists that had been established under the previous Biden administration.
Ghaith Odeh, who moved his family to the village in 2021 after growing up in New York, described living on the border with defensive measures such as window shutters. The violence predates recent regional conflicts but has accelerated significantly over the past year. Many residents who previously supported Trump reported losing confidence in the administration’s willingness or ability to provide protection or restrain settler activities.
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