Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) stated on Saturday that he was unlawfully detained in the West Bank by Israeli settlers. In a post on X, Khanna described his experience during a trip to Palestine, where he claimed that settlers armed with American-made M4 rifles blocked his vehicle and taunted him and his team. He reported that the Israeli military arrived but sided with the settlers, continuing the detention until he was eventually allowed to leave after contacting the U.S. embassy and Israeli police.
Khanna expressed that this experience would motivate him to focus on Palestinian rights in his potential 2028 presidential campaign. He noted feeling powerless during the incident and emphasized the daily struggles faced by Palestinians under occupation. He plans to share their stories across America, regardless of his decision to run for office.
The West Bank has been a contested area for decades, with disputes over control between Israel and Palestine. Khanna's comments reflect a broader perspective among some left-wing progressives who view Israel's actions as colonial. In recent months, several countries, including France and Canada, have imposed sanctions related to violence in the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently addressed the violence, attributing it to a small group of juvenile delinquents rather than the settler community as a whole, and criticized the leniency of the Israeli justice system in handling these cases.