A Democratic lawmaker from the United States, Ro Khanna, reported that he and a group of trip participants were detained by armed Israeli settlers during a visit to the occupied West Bank. In a post on X on Saturday, Khanna accused the Israeli army of siding with the settlers.
“When the [Israeli army] arrived, they sided with the settlers and continued to detain us,” wrote Khanna, adding that he would soon provide more details about the incident. This case has once again highlighted settler violence in the occupied West Bank, which has surged since the onset of the war in Gaza nearly three years ago.
Increase in violence and international reaction
Human rights organizations assert that the Israeli government encourages settlers, while Amnesty International has accused Israel of conducting a state-supported campaign of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Last month, several Western countries imposed sanctions on networks linked to settler violence.
Khanna, who is considering a run for the United States presidency in 2028, warned that the Israelis had made a “huge mistake.” On Thursday, he told Reuters that armed settlers with assault rifles had detained his group the day before. “They are blocking the road. And then they call [Israeli soldiers], and [Israeli soldiers] side with them,” said Khanna, noting that the settlers were armed with American-made assault rifles.
In an interview with DRM News, Khanna remarked that his experience in the occupied West Bank and in Israel was the “first time” he had acutely felt the attitude towards him because of his skin color. “I saw arrogance in the eyes of those settlers. Twenty-one- and twenty-two-year-old guys with guns who laughed at detaining us. The arrogance of those young soldiers [of the Israeli army] who are funded by my taxes. They did not care that they were detaining US citizens,” he added.
Cameron Caski, an aide to Khanna who was part of the group, reported that they were held for over an hour and that they had contacted the US embassy in Jerusalem for assistance. According to him, after police intervened, the group was released.
The Israeli military stated that troops and police intervened after receiving reports that settlers were blocking vehicles near Khirbet Zanuta, a small Palestinian hamlet whose residents were forcibly displaced due to violent settler raids at the beginning of the war in Gaza in 2023.
Pressure on US military aid to Israel
Israel, which has long enjoyed bipartisan support in the United States, has come under increased scrutiny in recent months, with both Republicans and Democrats calling for an end to US military aid. Congress is currently considering new military spending legislation that, if passed, would deepen the United States’ defense ties with Israel.
Republican Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna are urging lawmakers to halt military aid to Israel. Last week, Khanna stated that the House Rules Committee had canceled a vote on a bill proposed by Massie, of which he was a co-author, that would stop American military aid to Israel.
Source: Al Jazeera
