US Democrat Ro Khanna detained by Israeli settlers during West Bank visit

U.S. Democratic lawmaker Ro Khanna recounted being detained by Israeli settlers armed with American-made rifles during a recent visit to the West Bank. Khanna, a progressive representative from California, described the encounter as an unfiltered look at the human cost of the Israeli occupation. He said his group was observing a village that settlers had destroyed when their van was surrounded by armed individuals. "These hoodlums come in with machine guns, M4, an American-made machine gun, and they detain us," Khanna told Reuters. He added that the settlers blocked the road and then contacted the Israeli military. "The IDF is on their side, not on the side of the Americans," Khanna stated, referring to the Israeli Defense Forces. Khanna is considering a 2028 presidential run and visited the Palestinian village to witness firsthand the impact of settler violence and occupation.

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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. 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.