US Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna announced that he was threatened with guns and detained by Israeli settlers while visiting a village in the West Bank. In a statement to Reuters, Khanna said the settlers were carrying US-made M4 rifles and blocked the road, preventing his group from proceeding.
"We were in a village; Israeli settlers had destroyed the village and demolished the school. We were just looking. Then these thugs came with machine guns — M4, American-made machine guns — and detained us. They blocked the road. Then they called the Israeli army, and the army sided with them, not with the Americans," he said.
Khanna's aide Cameron Kasky said they were detained for over an hour and sought help from the US Embassy in Jerusalem. He added that they were released after a group of police officers intervened.
The Israeli military said soldiers and police officers arrived at the scene after a report that settlers had blocked vehicles near Hirbet Zanuta, and dispersed the Israeli civilians, allowing the vehicles to continue on their way.
Ro Khanna described Israel's actions in Gaza as 'genocide' and its practices in the West Bank as 'apartheid'. Khanna, who said he is strongly considering running in the 2028 presidential election, stated that this trip increased his determination.
Ahead of the US midterm elections in November, Israel's policy toward Palestinians has become a major point of debate within the Democratic Party. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, Israel's favorability rating among Democrats dropped from 59 percent in 2018 to 22 percent in May.
Israel receives $3.8 billion in annual military aid from the US. The aid package includes light weapons such as M4 rifles as well as missile defense systems used in the war with Iran. A growing number of Democratic members of Congress are pressing for this aid to be cut.
Khanna said he deliberately chose to make a visit focused solely on the West Bank and programmed by Palestinians, adding that his party's establishment is 'unaware of how great a moral test Palestine, Gaza and Israel have become'.
