Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) on Saturday suggested he was unlawfully detained in the West Bank, warning, “they made a huge mistake.”
Khanna said in a post to X that he made a “trip to Palestine,” where he said he was detained by “Israeli settlers, brandishing American-made M4s.” He said that when the Israeli military arrived at the scene, “they sided with the settlers & continued our detention.”
“They made a huge mistake,” Khanna said. “You will be hearing more soon.”
Khanna, who is viewed as a likely presidential contender in 2028, detailed the encounter in an interview with the New York Times. He said a car of men holding guns pulled up and blocked the narrow road he was on, and began taunting him and his team and kicking the car. The Israeli military arrived, the “settlers” left, and then the military blocked the road with a vehicle, according to Khanna. Khanna said he was eventually allowed to continue his journey after calls to the U.S. embassy and Israeli police.
He said the experience would galvanize him to make “Palestinian rights,” a key focus of the campaign, should he decide to run.
“I felt powerless in that situation, which is not an easy thing, as I have a lot of privilege in life,” he said. “Imagine how people feel every day, Palestinians under the occupation, if they could make an American congressperson feel powerless for 90 minutes.”
“I have something unique to offer about the injustices of Palestinians,” Khanna continued. “I’m going to go to every corner of America, regardless of whether I run or not, and tell their stories and tell the story of what is happening in the West Bank.”
The West Bank is historically tied to the nation of Israel. Who should control it — whether Jerusalem or a new Palestinian state or entity — has been in dispute for decades. Israel still occupies parts of the West Bank, while the Palestinian Authority has some control over other areas. Left-wing progressives who describe themselves as pro-Palestinian, such as Khanna, believe Israel is a colonizing force that is unlawfully occupying the land.
In recent months, several countries, including France and Canada, have announced sanctions targeting individuals and organizations linked to violence in the West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed violence in the West Bank during a recent CNN interview. He blamed the violence to around 150 “juvenile delinquents” who he said are not part of the settler community. He said it’s hard for the Israeli military to target the teenagers because “it’s such a tightly knit group” and that when they are brought to courts, the “lenient” Israeli justice system lets them off the hook.
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“This is blown up beyond belief and causes a lot of damage,” he said. “I want to put that in perspective. It’s not the settler community, because they, the settler community, condemn them. It’s not the people of Israel, because we condemn them. It’s not the government of Israel. It’s, I would say, a violation of basic norms of our country. We don’t accept it. I don’t accept it.”
“Our citizens cannot practice violence against anyone,” he added. “I think it’s wrong on its own account. I don’t want and don’t accept vigilanteism, and I don’t care if it comes from Arabs or Jews.”