On a July visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, U.S. Representative Ro Khanna said he and his delegation were surrounded and detained by Israeli settlers carrying American-made weapons, an episode he described as an unvarnished view of the toll of occupation and a reminder of the security challenges confronting U.S. officials in the region.
Khanna, a progressive Democrat from California who has been publicly weighing a 2028 presidential run, was touring a village near Ramallah when the incident occurred. An aide with the group, Cameron Kasky, said the delegation was held for more than an hour and sought help from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
"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," Khanna told Reuters. "And these hoodlums come in with machine guns – M4, an American-made machine gun – and they detain us."
What happened and immediate responses
According to Khanna and his aide, settlers surrounded the group's van and blocked the road. They said the settlers were carrying M4 rifles, which Khanna highlighted as U.S.-made weapons. The delegation appealed to the U.S. Embassy for assistance while the situation unfolded. A number of officers who appeared to be police ultimately intervened and the group was released, Kasky said.
The Israeli military said troops and police responded after receiving a report of settlers blocking vehicles near Khirbet Zanuta, a small Palestinian hamlet whose residents were forcibly displaced after violent raids following the 2023 attacks by Hamas. The military said its forces dispersed the Israeli civilians and allowed the vehicles to proceed.
Political and diplomatic stakes
The episode underscores several tensions: the frequent clashes between settlers and Palestinian residents in parts of the southern West Bank; the presence of U.S.-manufactured arms in the hands of settlers; and the diplomatic sensitivity when a sitting U.S. lawmaker is directly involved. Khanna framed the visit as part of his effort to bear witness to conditions on the ground as he weighs a national political campaign.
- Location: Turmus Ayya area near Ramallah; road blocked near Khirbet Zanuta.
- Weapons reported: M4 rifles, described by Khanna as American-made.
- Duration held: More than one hour, according to an aide.
| Actor | Action |
|---|---|
| Ro Khanna and delegation | Touring a Palestinian village; detained by settlers |
| Settlers | Blocked vehicles; armed with M4 rifles (per Khanna) |
| Israeli military/police | Dispersed settlers and allowed vehicles to continue (per military) |
Israel's police did not immediately comment to Reuters, and the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem had no immediate public statement. The incident comes as Democrats are divided over Israeli conduct in the region and as more U.S. lawmakers visit to assess conditions firsthand. Khanna is at least the second Democrat contemplating a White House run to travel to the area this week.
For now, the episode is likely to prompt questions inside Washington about how the U.S. protects its officials abroad, how American weapons circulate in the West Bank, and how such confrontations shape political narratives ahead of a potential presidential campaign.
