U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna detained by Israeli settlers in West Bank, then released

U.S. Representative Ro Khanna and his tour group were detained by rifle-wielding Israeli settlers near Turmus Aya in the occupied West Bank on July 9. The settlers blocked the road and held the group for more than one hour, Al Jazeera reported.

-made assault rifles and called the Israeli military, which arrived and sided with them to continue the detention. Khanna and his group appealed to the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem for assistance. They were released after officers who appeared to be police intervened.

On July 10, Khanna posted on X that the army had sided with the settlers. He told Reuters that “hoodlums … with machine guns” had detained the group and described 21- and 22-year-old settlers laughing while holding them. Khanna said the young army soldiers showed arrogance and that his tax dollars funded troops who showed no respect for detaining Americans.

The detention took place near Khirbet Zanuta, a Palestinian hamlet whose residents were forcibly displaced by settler raids at the start of Israel’s 2023 Gaza war. Khanna is considering running for U.S. president in 2028.