No man\u2019s land in Turmus Ayya lies where the US flags end and the Israeli flags begin. It is a few hundred metres of soil scorched by molotov cocktails where Israeli settlers have placed a boulder to tell the Palestinian villagers: this is our land now.<\/p>\n
On one side of that boulder are the white-stoned mansions where the Palestinian residents of Turmus Ayya live. About 80% of them are US citizens, members of the diaspora in New York, Chicago and Paterson, New Jersey, who return for the summers and bring their children here to experience Palestinian culture and learn Arabic. Many call themselves proud American patriots and fly the stars and stripes from their balconies.<\/p>\n
An Israeli military Jeep patrols an illegal outpost built by Israeli settlers after they took control of private farmland owned by the people of Turmus Ayya. Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
On the other side is an illegal Israeli outpost of corrugated metal trailers and shacks staffed by young men who claim all of the West Bank<\/a> as Jewish land.<\/p>\n The outposts radiate from Shilo, a hilltop settlement across the valley that has become a destination for Americans seeking Judaism\u2019s first religious and spiritual capital before the first temple was built. Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador<\/a> to Israel, has visited Shilo, which the UN says is a violation of international law<\/a>, twice in the last two years.<\/p>\n Ashraf Rabi on the farm where he breeds Arabian horses in Turmus Ayya. He is worried that settlers attacking the village could harm his horses. Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum\/The Guardian<\/p>\n The irony is not lost on people here that the US has backed settlers claiming the West Bank as theirs, and that US dollars \u2013 through Jewish charities and the US budget to support the Israeli military \u2013 have helped finance the Israeli land grab. Given Shilo\u2019s close ties to the US, they muse that some of those attacking Turmus Ayya could be fellow Americans.<\/p>\n \u201cOnly in Palestine<\/a> will you find American citizens invading American citizens for land,\u201d said Yaser Alkam, a semi-retired family law attorney from Turmus Ayya who for 35 years lived in Anaheim, California. He is now the head of this village\u2019s council. \u201cThere is no fight. One side attacks and the other side defends with the limited means that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n Yaser Alkam, the head of the village council, who lived in the US for 35 years, shows the \u2018hot areas\u2019 where radical settlers attack Palestinian landowners. Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum\/The Guardian<\/p>\n The violence is relentless.<\/a> At night, settlers roam the village in off-road vehicles and intimidate people with gunshots, screaming and shining flashlights through the windows. In a recent attack against a family on the edge of the village, the settlers spray-painted the word \u201cRevenge\u201d on the side of the house.<\/p>\n Among those accused of violence and intimidation is Amishav Melet, whose brother was killed in a clash when settlers marched into another Palestinian village last week. He has publicly declared that he believes Jews should retake all of the West Bank. He has denied claims that he is connected to settler violence.<\/p>\n Amishav Melet has publicly declared he believes Jews should retake all of the West Bank and has been accused of violence and intimidation. <\/p>\n \u201cI have his pictures,\u201d Alkam said of Melet. \u201cAnd I\u2019m sure he has my pictures and he has my name. He knows me and I know him \u2026 And he\u2019s probably waiting for the time to get me.\u201d<\/p>\n While the Trump administration<\/a> is focused on Iran, Israel\u2019s accelerating land grab in the West Bank has found an enthusiastic supporter in Huckabee. The US ambassador is an evangelical Christian who has supported Jewish claims on the occupied land that settlers call Judea and Samaria.<\/p>\n Huckabee told residents in 2025: \u201cPresident Trump loves this land. You are not alone. We stand with you, and so do many around the world. Those who do not stand with you do not stand with God.\u201d<\/p>\n When attacks take place, Alkam contacts Huckabee\u2019s embassy for protection. Sometimes, he said, US officials have helped, most recently in late July when the Israeli military occupied a house owned by a doctor from Syracuse, who had hosted the Democratic congressman Ro Khanna during his visit<\/a> to Turmus Ayya earlier in the month. Alkam credited the US embassy with \u201cplaying a big role\u201d in getting the military to leave, he said.<\/p>\n But nine Palestinian Americans have been killed in the West Bank since 2022 by either settlers or the Israeli military, and the US is often unable to help or to restrain the settlers or military during violent attacks. A year after a Palestinian American from Tampa Bay was beaten to death<\/a> by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, settlers attacked his family members and friends, and even a CNN crew, who had gathered for a vigil.<\/p>\n