Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) says he and a congressional delegation were briefly detained by armed Israeli settlers while visiting the occupied West Bank, describing the incident as an unfiltered, firsthand look at the conditions Palestinians face under occupation.
Khanna told Reuters the encounter occurred Wednesday while he was touring the ruins of Khirbet Zanuta, a Palestinian hamlet in the southern West Bank where he said settlers had previously destroyed homes and a school. According to Khanna, armed settlers carrying U.S.-made M4-style rifles blocked the delegation’s van and prevented it from leaving for over an hour.
“I felt powerless in that situation,” Khanna told The New York Times. “Imagine how people feel every day, Palestinians under the occupation, if they could make an American congressperson feel powerless for 90 minutes.”
Khanna criticizes Israeli security forces
Khanna said the settlers called the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) after stopping the vehicle, and accused the responding troops of siding with the armed settlers instead of helping the American delegation.
“I saw the arrogance in the eyes of those settlers, 21- and 22-year-olds with guns,” Khanna said, adding that both the settlers and the young IDF soldiers were laughing when a translator informed them they were detaining Americans. He noted the sharp irony of “the arrogance of those young IDF soldiers that my tax dollars are funding — having no respect for the fact that they were detaining Americans.”
Cameron Kasky, a congressional aide traveling with Khanna, said the group was forced to make urgent appeals to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem for assistance. A group of officers who appeared to be Israeli police eventually intervened, allowing the delegation to leave.
Israeli military acknowledges response
The Israeli military confirmed that troops and police responded after receiving reports that Israeli civilians were obstructing vehicles near Khirbet Zanuta. While it did not characterize the incident as a detention, the military stated that security forces arrived at the scene, dispersed the civilians, and cleared the road.
Khirbet Zanuta is a small community whose Palestinian residents were forcibly displaced by violent settler raids following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel. Human rights organizations have documented a sharp increase in settler violence in the West Bank since the war began, while Israel maintains it works to investigate criminal acts.
A developing political issue
Khanna, a progressive lawmaker, has become one of Congress’ most outspoken critics of Israeli policy, deliberately choosing a Palestinian-led itinerary for his West Bank trip to bypass official Israeli narratives. Following the encounter, Khanna took a direct aim at his own party’s establishment, calling them “clueless” about how central the Israel-Palestine conflict has become to younger voters ahead of the midterm elections.
“If you’re unwilling to speak up for Palestinian human rights, if you’re unwilling to speak up against the genocide in Gaza, the apartheid in the West Bank, then you are morally compromised,” Khanna said.
The California Democrat added that the experience has only strengthened his resolve to speak out. Asked by Reuters whether he is considering a 2028 presidential campaign, Khanna replied that he is “strongly considering it” and that the trip had made him “more resolved” to do so.
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