Rep. Ro Khanna says he was detained by Israeli settlers during West Bank visit
Rep. Ro Khanna reported being detained by armed Israeli settlers while visiting a Palestinian village in the West Bank. The Israeli military stated they intervened to disperse the settlers after receiving reports of blocked vehicles.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the ongoing tensions and security risks in the West Bank, involving a high-profile U.S. politician and raising questions about the conduct of settlers and the response of the IDF.
TURMUS AYYA, West Bank — Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said he was detained by Israeli settlers armed with U.S.-made rifles during a West Bank visit this week that he cast as an unfiltered look at the human toll of Israeli occupation as he weighs a 2028 presidential run. Speaking with Reuters on Thursday in a Palestinian village, Khanna said his group’s van was surrounded by settlers wielding M4 rifles a day earlier while touring a part of the southern West Bank where residents face frequent settler attacks. “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,” he said. “And these hoodlums come in with machine guns – M4, an American-made machine gun – and they detain us. They block off the road.
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