US Congressman Ro Khanna Says Armed Israeli Settlers Detained Him During West Bank Visit

US Congressman Ro Khanna reported an incident where he and his delegation were detained for over an hour by armed Israeli settlers during a visit to the West Bank, which he described as a revealing experience of Israeli occupation.

US Congressman Ro Khanna has claimed that he and members of his delegation were detained for more than an hour by armed Israeli settlers during a visit to the occupied West Bank, describing the episode as an “unfiltered” look at life under Israeli occupation. The incident comes as the California Democrat says he is seriously considering a run for the White House in 2028.

The alleged confrontation took place on Wednesday while Khanna was visiting Khirbet Zanuta, a Palestinian hamlet in the southern West Bank that has witnessed repeated settler attacks in recent years.

According to Khanna, his delegation’s vehicle was surrounded by Israeli settlers carrying American-made M4 rifles after the group visited a village that he said had been destroyed by settlers.

“We were at a village that Israeli settlers had destroyed… and these hoodlums came in with machine guns. They blocked the road and then called the IDF, which sided with them instead of the Americans,” Khanna told Reuters during his trip.

Cameron Kasky, an aide accompanying the congressman, said the delegation contacted the US Embassy in Jerusalem while they were being held. According to Kasky, Israeli police later arrived at the scene, dispersed the settlers and cleared the road, allowing the group to continue its journey.

The Israeli military confirmed that troops and police responded after receiving reports that civilians were blocking vehicles near Khirbet Zanuta. In a statement, the military said security personnel removed those obstructing the road and enabled the vehicles to proceed. Israeli police have not commented publicly on the incident, while the US Embassy in Jerusalem has yet to issue a statement.

The incident unfolded as Khanna indicated he is increasingly inclined to seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2028.

“I’m strongly considering it and I’m more resolved to consider it after this trip,” he said.

Khanna’s visit coincided with that of former Obama White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, another Democrat widely viewed as a potential presidential contender. Speaking in Tel Aviv, Emanuel warned that Israeli policies toward Palestinians were eroding support for the US-Israel relationship among Democratic voters.

Israel-Gaza conflict remains a fault line

The war in Gaza and Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territories continue to divide the Democratic Party ahead of the US midterm elections. Progressive lawmakers have stepped up calls to place conditions on American military assistance to Israel, which receives approximately $3.8 billion annually in US security aid.

Speaking from Turmus Ayya, a Palestinian town in the central West Bank, Khanna said many Democratic leaders underestimate how significant the Israel-Palestine issue has become for younger voters and progressives.

He said he intentionally spent his visit exclusively in the West Bank, meeting with Palestinians to better understand conditions on the ground.

“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.

Israel has strongly rejected allegations of genocide in Gaza and denies that it practices apartheid in the West Bank. It also disputes the widely held international view that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank violate international law, maintaining that the territory is disputed and citing longstanding Jewish historical ties to the area.

While criticism of Israeli policy has grown within sections of the Democratic Party, support for Israel remains strong among most Republicans, though some members of US President Donald Trump’s political coalition have also questioned the scale of continued American military assistance.