Mahmoud Yaqoub, a 49-year-old Palestinian farmer, is hemmed in on two sides by an Israeli settlement. Standing on his roof, he points up the hill at olive trees he says are his. But he cannot reach them as a metal fence has been erected around Efrat, confiscating part of his family’s land.
Yaqoub’s sheep are confined to a metal shack next to his house. He says the Israeli army banned him from shepherding them on his land as it is considered too close to the settlement.
Until this week, the US – in line with overwhelming global consensus – had considered settlements such as Efrat to be illegal under international law. On Monday, the Trump administration announced that it believed this was no longer the case.