US Congressman Detained by Armed Israeli Settlers
Ro Khanna, a US congressman, reported being detained for 90 minutes by armed Israeli settlers during a visit to the occupied West Bank. The incident occurred on Wednesday while Khanna, 49, was traveling in a van with his team near Turmus Ayya, close to Ramallah.
Khanna told that settlers surrounded their vehicle wielding M4 rifles. He later wrote on X that when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) arrived,
"they sided with the settlers and continued our detention".
The BBC has contacted the IDF for comment. The Israeli military stated that troops and police officers responded after receiving a report that settlers had blocked vehicles in the area.
"Upon their arrival, the troops dispersed the Israeli civilians and allowed the vehicles to continue on their way,"
the IDF said in a statement.
Context of the Visit
Khanna was visiting the ruins of Khirbet Zanuta as part of a fact-finding mission to assess the impact of the Israeli occupation in the region. The congressman, who is a father of two and considering a presidential run in 2028, described the scene:
"We were at a village that Israeli settlers had destroyed, they had destroyed the school, they had destroyed that village, and we were just looking at it,"
he said.
"And these hoodlums come in with machine guns – M4, an American-made machine gun – and they detain us. 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 added.
During the detention, an aide accompanying Khanna said they appealed to the US Embassy in Jerusalem for assistance. They were released after police officers intervened.
Background on Settlements
Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has established approximately 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, housing around 700,000 Jewish residents. These areas are claimed by Palestinians, along with Gaza, for a prospective future state. Approximately 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside these settlements.
The settlements are considered illegal under international law.
