Rep. Ro Khanna says armed settlers detained him during West Bank visit

U.S. Representative Ro Khanna stated he was detained by armed Israeli settlers during a recent visit to the West Bank, an experience he described as an unfiltered look at the human toll of "Israeli occupation." Khanna, a progressive lawmaker from California considering a 2028 presidential run, said his group's van was surrounded by settlers wielding M4 rifles.

The incident occurred after Khanna's group visited a Palestinian village that settlers had reportedly destroyed. "These hoodlums come in with machine guns – M4, an American-made machine gun – and they detain us. They block off the road. And then they call the IDF and the IDF is on their side, not on the side of the Americans," Khanna told Reuters.

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We were at a village that Israeli settlers had destroyed, they had destroyed the school, they had destroyed that village, and we were just looking at it.

An aide with Khanna's group reported they were held for over an hour before police intervened. The Israeli military confirmed troops and police dispersed settlers who were blocking vehicles near a Palestinian hamlet, stating they allowed the vehicles to proceed. The military said the settlers were blocking vehicles near Khirbet Zanuta, a small Palestinian hamlet whose residents were forcibly displaced after the 2023 Hamas attacks.

Khanna's experience highlights the ongoing tensions and divisions within the Democratic party regarding Israeli conduct toward Palestinians. His visit and subsequent comments come as Israel's favorability rating among Democrats has declined significantly in recent years.

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And these hoodlums come in with machine guns – M4, an American-made machine gun – and they detain us. They block off the road. And then they call the IDF and the IDF is on their side, not on the side of the Americans.