US Congressman Ro Khanna says he and his delegation were surrounded and detained by rifle-wielding Israeli settlers for 90 minutes during a fact-finding visit to the occupied West Bank, with Israeli soldiers allegedly siding with the settlers rather than intervening on behalf of the American group.
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Key Takeaways by Planet Today
A Sitting Congressman Targeted: The detention of a US lawmaker by armed settlers marks an escalation in West Bank tensions, raising questions about the safety of foreign officials and journalists documenting the occupation, and about Washington's ability to protect its own representatives abroad.
Military Complicity Under Scrutiny: Khanna's accusation that IDF troops backed the settlers rather than his delegation feeds into a broader pattern of documented incidents where Israeli soldiers have been accused of failing to intervene against settler violence, intensifying scrutiny of US military aid to Israel.
A Widening Pattern of Access Denial: The incident fits into a growing list of cases where critics of Israeli policy, from members of Congress to journalists and activists, have been detained, blocked, or barred from entering Israeli-controlled territory, fueling concerns about press freedom and political transparency in the region.
Rising Settler Violence Draws International Attention: The confrontation occurred just after four settlers were arrested for attacking a CNN crew, underscoring a broader surge in settler aggression against journalists and international observers that has drawn condemnation from human rights groups and the United Nations. {alertInfo}
US Congressman Ro Khanna has said that armed Israeli settlers detained him during his 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 the US ally of committing genocide in Gaza, an allegation West Jerusalem denies.
According to the Hindu 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. He has since indicated he plans to raise the incident formally with colleagues in Congress, framing it as evidence of a broader breakdown in accountability for settler violence in the West Bank, an area where such incidents have surged sharply over the past two years according to UN monitoring bodies.
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. Rights groups tracking the region have noted a marked increase in attacks on journalists and international visitors in recent months, with several organizations calling for independent investigations into the role Israeli forces play in either preventing or enabling such confrontations.
Israeli settlements on Palestinian land are illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly condemned Israel for allowing the settlements to expand, and recent reports from UN human rights offices have highlighted a rise in settler outposts and violent incidents across the West Bank, further straining relations between Israeli authorities and international observers.
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. Taken together, these episodes have added to a growing chorus of criticism, including from within the US Congress, over what many lawmakers describe as an increasingly hostile environment for anyone seeking independent scrutiny of the occupation.