With an estimated 80–90% of Turmus Ayya residents holding U.S. citizenship or permanent residency, Regavim says local confrontations can rapidly become diplomatic disputes between Washington and Jerusalem.
An unusually high concentration of American citizens in the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya has created a unique political dynamic in which local violence can quickly become an issue for the U.S. government, according to a new investigation by the Israeli organization Regavim.
Turmus Ayya, located in Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank, has approximately 8,000 residents. Multiple reports over several years have estimated that roughly 70–90% of its population holds American citizenship or permanent residency, with recent estimates generally putting the figure at around 80%.
The extraordinary concentration developed through decades of migration and family sponsorship, with a particularly large Turmus Ayya community establishing itself in the Chicago area, alongside communities in New Jersey and New York.
Regavim argues that this demographic reality has acquired political significance far beyond the village itself.
From Local Confrontation to Washington
According to Regavim, Palestinian activists and individuals linked to Fatah have learned that incidents involving American citizens can generate significantly greater international attention.
When a Palestinian-American is injured or killed during a confrontation with Israeli forces or civilians, the organization argues, the person’s U.S. citizenship can transform what would otherwise remain a local security incident into a matter involving the State Department, members of Congress and U.S.-Israel relations.
Regavim alleges that extremist activists have exploited this dynamic, with the American identity of those involved receiving greater attention in Washington than the circumstances that preceded some confrontations.
The report’s characterization of these incidents is disputed. Other organizations and international media have documented settler violence and Israeli military operations affecting Turmus Ayya residents and have portrayed Palestinians, including minors and elderly residents, as victims in several incidents.
The Contested Killing of Amer Rabee
One case illustrating the political sensitivity surrounding Turmus Ayya is the April 2025 killing of Amer Mohamad Saada Rabee, a 14-year-old American citizen born in New Jersey.
Rabee was shot by Israeli forces near Turmus Ayya.
His family said he and two friends had been picking almonds when soldiers opened fire. The IDF presented a sharply different account, saying troops identified three individuals throwing rocks toward a highway and endangering motorists.
The available evidence has not definitively resolved the competing accounts.
Rabee’s death nevertheless generated significant attention in the United States, where his American citizenship became a central part of the story and prompted demands for an investigation.
The case is important because it demonstrates the broader phenomenon at the heart of Regavim’s report: events in a relatively small West Bank village can rapidly become American political issues when U.S. citizens are involved.
Fatah-Linked Figures Highlighted by Regavim
The investigation also focuses on several Palestinian-American activists whom Regavim says have helped connect political activity surrounding Turmus Ayya with networks in the United States.
Among those named is Imad Daboob, whom Regavim describes as a U.S.-based figure with senior connections to Fatah and the PLO and a board member of the Palestinian-American Council.
Regavim further alleges that Daboob previously served a prison sentence in Israel for terrorist activity during the First Intifada. Israel News Post was unable to independently corroborate that specific allegation from the available reporting, and it should therefore be attributed to Regavim rather than treated as independently established fact.
Another figure highlighted in the investigation is Mashal Alkook, an American citizen reportedly dividing his time between Turmus Ayya and Chicago.
Regavim says Alkook has publicly praised Hamas and Hezbollah and promoted “resistance.” The organization also links him to activity involving Samidoun.
Some of the more specific allegations regarding Alkook have not been independently verified outside Regavim’s investigation.
The Samidoun Connection
The status of Samidoun itself is much clearer.
In October 2024, the United States and Canada took coordinated action against the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network over its connections to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
The U.S. Treasury described Samidoun as a “sham charity” that serves as an international fundraiser for the PFLP, which the United States has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Canada simultaneously listed Samidoun as a terrorist entity.
Samidoun has also openly celebrated the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel.
Regavim argues that connections between American activists and organizations of this kind deserve greater scrutiny from both U.S. and Israeli authorities.
American Deaths Have Already Triggered Congressional Pressure
The political consequences Regavim describes are not entirely theoretical.
Deaths of American citizens in the West Bank have repeatedly prompted demands from members of Congress for investigations and greater accountability.
In 2026, a group of 19 Democratic senators and representatives called for investigations into the deaths of nine American citizens in the West Bank since 2022, with violence involving Turmus Ayya among the issues raised.
American concerns over Israeli military units have also previously affected discussions surrounding U.S. military assistance.
One prominent example involved the Netzah Yehuda battalion and the death of 78-year-old Palestinian-American Omar Assad in 2022. The Biden administration considered restricting assistance to the unit under the Leahy Law, although the United States ultimately determined in 2024 that the battalion remained eligible for American military assistance.
That controversy predated Regavim’s current investigation and was not specifically a Turmus Ayya case, meaning it should not be presented as a direct consequence of the phenomenon identified in the new report.
It nevertheless demonstrates how the treatment of American citizens can become intertwined with debates over U.S. military assistance to Israel.
Regavim Calls for Greater Scrutiny
Regavim’s central argument is that American citizenship has become an unusually powerful factor in the political battle surrounding Turmus Ayya.
The organization says the protections properly afforded to U.S. citizens abroad can also create opportunities for activists to internationalize confrontations with Israel, particularly when individuals involved have political or extremist affiliations.
Critics would dispute Regavim’s interpretation, arguing that American citizenship legitimately gives Washington an obligation to investigate cases in which its citizens are killed or injured and pointing to documented violence against Palestinian civilians in the area.
That distinction is crucial.
The high concentration of American citizens in Turmus Ayya is well documented. So too is the ability of incidents involving those citizens to attract congressional and diplomatic attention in Washington.
Whether activists are deliberately exploiting that reality as a political weapon against Israel, as Regavim alleges, is the more contentious conclusion of the investigation.
Regavim says it has submitted its findings to policymakers in the United States and is urging American and Israeli authorities to examine the individuals and organizations involved more closely.
