United States Democratic Representative Ro Khanna has fiercely criticized the Israeli military, accusing soldiers of being complicit after he and a group of Americans were blocked and detained by armed Israeli settlers during a visit to the occupied West Bank.


The California progressive lawmaker stated that the confrontation occurred on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in the southern West Bank hamlet of Khirbet Zanutaβ€”a Palestinian village previously emptied following frequent settler raids.


The Incident in Khirbet Zanuta

According to Representative Khanna and members of his delegation, their vehicle was surrounded and blocked for roughly 90 minutes by masked, armed Israeli settlers wielding American-made M4 rifles. The delegation, which included Khanna’s aide Cameron Kasky and a photographer from The New York Times, was touring the remains of a destroyed Palestinian village and school when the confrontation began.

  • Intimidation Tactics: Khanna described the settlers as "hoodlums" who used weapons and blocked the path while shouting insults in Hebrew and Arabic.
  • The Stand-off: The group remained trapped until emergency calls were placed to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the Israeli police, who eventually intervened to facilitate their release.

ο»Ώο»Ώ

Accusations of Military Complicity

The core of Khanna's criticism focuses on the behavior of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) upon arriving at the scene. The congressman alleged that rather than assisting the American citizens, the military actively sided with the settlers.


"They block off the road. And then they call the IDF and the IDF is on their side, not on the side of the Americans," Khanna told Reuters. "They made a huge mistake... Imagine how people feel every day, Palestinians under the occupation, if they could make an American congressperson feel powerless for 90 minutes."


Khanna added that even after the settlers left the area, arriving soldiers continued to block the road, effectively prolonging the group's detention.


IDF Response and Political Fallout

The Israeli military has denied taking part in the detention of the American lawmakers. In an official statement, the IDF confirmed it received reports of Israeli civilians unlawfully blocking vehicles belonging to foreign nationals and media members near Khirbet Zanuta.


  • Military Denials: The IDF maintained that its troops were dispatched immediately to the scene, where they "quickly dispersed the Israeli civilians and reopened the blocked road," explicitly stating that soldiers did not participate in blocking the vehicle.
  • Shifting U.S. Policy Debates: The incident underscores growing fractures within the U.S. Democratic Party regarding its traditional alliance with Israel. Khanna, who is openly exploring a 2028 presidential bid, chose an exclusively Palestinian-led itinerary for his West Bank trip to gain an unfiltered view of the region.

Following the ordeal, Khanna renewed calls for stricter oversight on U.S. military aid to Israel, arguing that the ongoing treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank represents a critical moral test for American foreign policy.