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Americans in the Settlements and American Money

A settlement is an Israeli civilian community built on land Israel captured in the 1967 war, mostly in the West Bank (which the Israeli government calls Judea and Samaria). An outpost is one built without formal government approval, which is often granted later. Settlements are the part of Greater Israel already being built (see Settlements: The Part of Greater Israel Already Being Built). This page follows the American thread through them: the American citizens who live there, the American money that protects them, and the swings in American policy that decide how fast they grow.

Evidence rating: CONFIRMED that U.S. military aid funds the army that guards the settlements and that U.S. policy on settlements has swung with each administration; STRONG that Americans make up a significant share of settlers.

American citizens on the hilltops​

How many Americans live in the settlements is disputed. In May 2025, before he became ambassador, Mike Huckabee claimed about 700,000 American citizens live in Israeli settlements; a Recognise Palestine post answered that "credible sources suggest that between 60,000 and 100,000 American citizens reside in Israeli settlements, primarily in the West Bank and East Jerusalem," and that they keep U.S. citizenship and consular protection while U.S. tax-exempt groups fund settlement expansion (Facebook, Recognise Palestine, May 2025). A 2024 Reddit thread commented, "Most of the settlers are also US citizens, What is this admin gonna do about it?" (Reddit r/InternationalNews, 24 February 2024). The Globe and Mail, reporting on "settlers pushing for their dream of a 'Greater Israel,'" noted that many "speak English with North American accents" (Globe and Mail, 24 April 2026).

A 2024 story carried the headline "How American citizens are leading rise of 'settler violence' on Palestinian lands," and noted that "The Biden administration instituted a travel ban on extremist Jewish settlers who attack Palestinians but there is a glaring loophole for US citizens" (Reddit r/worldpolitics2, 5 August 2024). Americans are on both sides of the fence: in September 2026 Ambassador Huckabee held a town hall with "US Citizens in Turmusayya," a West Bank town, who "shared personal stories of homes vandalized, children threatened, & violence/intimidation" (Mike Huckabee on X, 5 September 2026). In July 2026, U.S. Representative Ro Khanna said he was detained by Israeli settlers "armed with U.S.-made rifles during a West Bank visit" (X search snippet, July 2026).

American money​

The United States gives Israel about $3.8 billion in military aid every year. Chris Hedges reported that "The U.S. provided $17.9 billion in military aid to Israel from October 2023 to October 2024, a substantial increase from the already $3.8 billion," and that the State Department told Congress it would approve "another $8 billion in purchases of U.S.-made arms," including 2,800 MK-84 bombs (Chris Hedges on X, 7 January 2025). That money buys the army that guards settlements and holds the new "security zones" in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. When Palestinian villagers watched settlers burn homes and cars in Deir Dibwan in April 2026, a widely shared video showed "Israeli soldiers collaborating with settlers. While the soldiers provide security the settlers set fire to Palestinian homes and vehicles" (ricwe123 on X, 28 April 2026). Yodysseus, in a post quoting the UN special rapporteur Ben Saul, wrote: "Germany and the United States supply 99% of the weapons exported to Israel. They could stop this conflict overnight" (Yodysseus on X, 12 February 2025).

Private American money flows too. In 2019, Lara Friedman documented the Israel Action Network "proudly claiming credit for Airbnb policy that now treats settlements as indistinguishable from Israel" and "bragging about how it worked with US states to get them to blacklist Airbnb unless it caved to Greater Israel bullying" (Lara Friedman on X, 12 April 2019).

The policy swings​

American policy on settlements has changed with each president, and every swing has been felt on the hilltops:

  • Obama. The Obama administration "demanded end to settlement expansions" but, as one critic put it, made "no threat to cease funding" (NomNomNom on X, 22 February 2025).
  • Trump, first term. In November 2019 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Washington no longer viewed the settlements as "inconsistent with international law," "a reversal of four decades of U.S. policy." In 2019 the United States also recognized Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights; France's foreign minister later said "no one rose up in 2019 when Trump gave the Golan back to Israel and legitimized the colonization of the West Bank" (as rendered from the French of Jean-Noël Barrot in an X search snippet).
  • Biden. In June 2023 the State Department said the United States was "deeply troubled" by plans for "over 4,000 new settlement units" and that "Settlement expansion is an obstacle to peace" (State Department spokesperson on X, 19 June 2023). In February 2024 Secretary Antony Blinken called new settlements "inconsistent with international law" (Reddit r/InternationalNews, 24 February 2024). Words did not stop the building.
  • Trump, second term. After the January 2025 inauguration, the administration "resumed munitions to Israel, lifted settler sanctions, proposed US Gaza takeover and Palestinian relocation" (as summarized by Grok on X, 23 September 2026). Responsible Statecraft counted 54 new settlements approved in 2025 alone, against 14 in Biden's four years, and noted: "President Trump insists that he won't let Israel annex the West Bank. But under his administration, the Israeli far-right has accelerated its efforts" (Responsible Statecraft, 29 May 2026). On 9 April 2026, 48 hours after Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran, Israel approved 34 new settlements, "badly undermining the ceasefire" (Globe and Mail, 24 April 2026); see Settlements Approved During the Iran War.

The Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Husam Zomlot, wrote in The Economist that Israel's government aimed to "deal a deadly blow to Palestinian statehood under the cover of war" (as quoted on Chitter's annexation tag page). The cover of war is, in large part, an American war.

Status: Mike Huckabee, Ro Khanna, Chris Hedges, Ben Saul, Lara Friedman, Mike Pompeo, Antony Blinken, Jean-Noël Barrot, Donald Trump, and Husam Zomlot are alive. Nothing on this page states that any of them committed a crime.

Sources​

Research captures: twitter/t22__v255.md, twitter/t22__v257.md, twitter/t22__v262.md, twitter/t29__v337.md, twitter/t29__v343.md, twitter/t29__v344.md, twitter/t29__v346.md

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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