In brief
During a trip to the occupied West Bank, Congressman Ro Khanna said he and his team were surrounded by armed Israeli settlers wielding M4 rifles and detained for 90 minutes. He reported that when the IDF arrived, they sided with the settlers and continued the detention. Khanna, who was inspecting the ruins of Khirbet Zanuta, highlighted the destruction of a village and school by settlers. The incident has raised questions about the IDF’s role and the legality of Israeli settlements.
American congressman Ro Khanna, 49, reported that on Wednesday he was in a van with his team when armed Israeli settlers surrounded them, wielding M4 rifles. Khanna said the settlers detained them for about ninety minutes, continuing to block their route until the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) arrived.
"They called the IDF and the IDF was on their side, not on the side of the Americans," he wrote on X.
The IDF later issued a statement that troops and police officers dispersed the settlers and allowed the vehicles to pass after a report on blocked traffic. Khanna was visiting the ruins of Khirbet Zanuta near Ramallah to examine the impact of the Israeli occupation, noting that settlers had destroyed villages and schools there.
While detained, Khanna’s aides appealed for assistance to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, and free passage was granted following police intervention. The incident sheds light on the ongoing conflict over about 160 Israeli settlements—housing roughly 700,000 Jews—on territory Palestinians claim for a future state. These settlements, built since 1967, are deemed illegal under international law.
