Ro Khanna said rifle-wielding men held him and his team for 90 minutes during a trip to the West Bank
US Congressman Ro Khanna has said that armed Israeli settlers detained him during a visit to a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, claiming that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops sided with the settlers rather than helping his delegation.
Khanna, a progressive Democrat from California, has often criticized Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and accused it of committing genocide in Gaza, an allegation Israel denies.
According to the congressman, the incident occurred on Wednesday during a three-day fact-finding trip to examine the impact of the Israeli occupation on Palestinian communities. He said masked Israeli settlers carrying US-made M4 rifles surrounded the van carrying him and his team as they visited the abandoned Palestinian village of Khirbet Zanuta, where they were inspecting a school that Khanna said had been destroyed by Israeli settlers.
Khanna told Reuters the settlers blocked the road, refused to let the group leave, and detained them for about 90 minutes.
“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 said. The son of Indian immigrants, Khanna said the disturbing encounter made him “acutely aware of being brown.”
“I saw the arrogance in the eyes of those settlers, 21- and 22-year-olds with guns, laughing that they had detained us, the arrogance of those young IDF soldiers that my tax dollars are funding,” Khanna said, adding that the settlers and the soldiers had created “a toxic culture of oppression.”
The IDF said its soldiers did not take part in blocking the road and added that, after receiving a report that a vehicle carrying foreign nationals had been obstructed, “troops were dispatched to the scene, quickly dispersed the Israeli civilians, and reopened the blocked road.”
Khanna, however, accused the Israeli government of “lying to cover up” for the troops and called for their arrest.
The incident came shortly after four Israeli settlers were arrested over an attack on a CNN crew and other journalists near the West Bank village of Sinjil, according to Israeli police. The reporters had been covering the first anniversary of the killing of Saif Musallet, a Palestinian American who was allegedly beaten to death by settlers in July 2025.
Israeli settlements on Palestinian land are illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly condemned Israel for allowing the settlements to expand.
Politicians, journalists, and activists critical of Israel have been barred from entering the country or visiting the West Bank. In 2019, Israel blocked visits by US Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. Last month, Palestinian American activist Linda Sarsour was prevented from traveling to Israel.
American journalist Tucker Carlson said earlier this year that he had been briefly detained and questioned at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv after interviewing US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Israeli authorities said he had been subjected to routine security checks.