Israeli settlers detain a US congressman during a visit to the West Bank
U.S. Democratic Representative Ro Khana said he was detained by Israeli settlers armed with American-made rifles during a recent visit to the West Bank, describing the trip as an opportunity to witness the true impact of the Israeli occupation on people’s lives.
This comes as Khana considers running for president in 2028.
Speaking to Reuters on Thursday from a Palestinian village, Khana said settlers carrying M-4 rifles surrounded the van he was traveling in the previous day during a tour of an area in the southern West Bank where residents face repeated attacks by settlers.
Khana, a U.S. House member from California, said, “We were in a village destroyed by Israeli settlers. They destroyed the school and destroyed that village, and we were just looking around.”
He added, “Then these criminals arrived with M-4 rifles, which are American-made, and detained us. They blocked the road. Then they contacted the Israeli military, and the Israeli military was on their side, not on the side of the Americans.”
Cameron Caskey, one of Khana’s aides who was part of the group, said they were detained for more than an hour and pleaded with the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem for help. Caskey added that a group of officers, who appeared to be police, eventually intervened, leading to their release.
The Israeli military said that army and police forces intervened after receiving a report that settlers had blocked vehicles near Khirbet Zanutta, a small Palestinian village whose residents were forcibly displaced following violent attacks by settlers after Hamas’s attacks on Israel in 2023.
The Israeli police did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
Khana is the second Democrat considering a White House bid to visit the region this week. On Wednesday in Tel Aviv, Rahm Emanuel, who served as chief of staff to former President Barack Obama, said Israel’s policies toward Palestinians are undermining support for the U.S.-Israeli alliance.
When asked if he intended to run for president, Khana said, “I’m seriously considering it, and I’ve become more inclined to take on this challenge after this visit.” Israel’s policies toward Palestinians have become a prominent point of contention within the Democratic Party ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November, contributing to the loss of some incumbent Democratic representatives in primaries to left-wing challengers who accused them of supporting the right-wing Israeli government.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that support for Israel among Democrats fell from 59 percent in 2018 to 22 percent in May. Although Israel has historically enjoyed strong support from both major U.S. political parties, an increasing number of Democrats in Congress are calling for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, which amounts to $3.8 billion annually and includes funding for light weapons such as M-4 rifles and missile interception systems used by Israel during its war with Iran.
During a visit to an area overlooking a valley dotted with settlement outposts on the outskirts of the town of Turmus‘aya, which is home to thousands of Palestinians who also hold U.S. citizenship, Khana said he believes that leaders of his party “do not grasp the magnitude of the moral test posed by the issues of Palestine, Gaza, and Israel.” Khana added that he deliberately limited his trip to the West Bank and arranged for its meetings and programs to be organized by Palestinians, aiming to gain an unfiltered perspective on the territories Israel captured in the 1967 war.
He stated, “If you are not prepared to defend the human rights of Palestinians, and if you are not prepared to condemn the genocide in Gaza and the apartheid system in the West Bank, then your moral stance is questionable.” Israel denies allegations that it has committed genocide in Gaza or imposed an apartheid system in the West Bank, where approximately three million Palestinians and half a million Jewish settlers reside.
Most countries and the United Nations consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, based on the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the transfer of civilian populations into occupied territories. Israel rejects this position, asserting that the West Bank is a disputed territory with a Jewish presence dating back thousands of years. Palestinians, meanwhile, view the West Bank, along with Gaza and East Jerusalem, as part of the state of Palestine they aspire to establish. Support for Israel remains strong among Republicans, although some factions within President Donald Trump’s political coalition have also called for halting aid to Israel.
