Armed Israeli settlers detain US congressman in ‘VIP version’ of daily ordeal for Palestinians

Armed Israeli settlers carrying US-made M4 rifles detained US Congressman Ro Khanna and other Americans in the illegally occupied West Bank. When Israeli occupation soldiers arrived, they reportedly sided with the settlers and extended the detention.

The California Democrat was travelling near the Palestinian village of Khirbet Zanuta in the South Hebron Hills last week, when the settlers blocked the vehicle of Khanna’s  delegation.

Khanna said the armed men surrounded the van, kicked its tyres, mocked and filmed those inside and left members of the delegation fearing for their lives.

Instead of removing the settlers and reopening the road, four Israeli soldiers joined them and continued to obstruct the delegation.

READ HRW: Israel soldiers supporting settler attacks on Palestinians

“We were detained for 20 minutes, fearful for our lives. Then the IDF comes,” Khanna explained during an interview with NBC News.

“Four soldiers, and they tell our translator that they’re on the side of the settlers. They further detain us and block us in.”

Khanna said the group was allowed to continue only after contacting the US embassy, approximately 75 minutes after the confrontation began. In another account, he described feeling powerless for around 90 minutes.

In a post on X, Khanna wrote:

“Israeli settlers, brandishing American made M4s, detained me & other Americans on my trip to Palestine.

“When the IDF arrived, they sided with the settlers & continued our detention.

“They made a huge mistake.

“You will be hearing more soon.”

Israeli settlers, brandishing American made M4s, detained me & other Americans on my trip to Palestine.

When the IDF arrived, they sided with the settlers & continued our detention.

They made a huge mistake.

You will be hearing more soon. https://t.co/rZw8bRAn64 pic.twitter.com/4z50Ye4I7K

— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) July 11, 2026

The US congressman explained that his ordeal give him a brief glimpse of the fear, humiliation and powerlessness Palestinians experience routinely under Israel’s military occupation.

“I felt powerless in that situation, which is not an easy thing, as I have a lot of privilege in life,” Khanna said.

“Imagine how people feel every day, Palestinians under the occupation, if they could make an American congressperson feel powerless for 90 minutes.”

Haaretz described Khanna’s experience as the “VIP version” of the abuse inflicted on Palestinians by armed settlers and Israeli occupation forces.

The newspaper described the incident as “VIP abuse”, explaining that Khanna’s status as an American lawmaker protected him from the level of violence Palestinians and Israeli human rights activists face in the same circumstances.

“Had he been a Palestinian, or even an Israeli human rights activist, the situation would have looked very different,” the editorial warned. “His car might have been smashed to pieces, or blood might even have been shed.”

Khanna had been visiting Khirbet Zanuta, a Palestinian community whose residents were forced to flee following sustained settler violence after October 2023. Settlers subsequently damaged or destroyed homes, agricultural structures and the village school.

The Israeli occupation army disputed Khanna’s account, claiming that its troops had “quickly dispersed” those obstructing the road and had not participated in the detention.

“The IDF is lying,” Khanna responded.

“What happened was unprecedented. They had violent settlers detain American citizens, including an American government official.”

“You had these settlers brandishing M4s, kicking the tyres of our van, laughing at us, mocking us, videotaping us.”

Khanna demanded investigations into the settlers and the four Israeli soldiers who he said prolonged the detention. “How dare they mistreat people with an American passport that way?” Khanna asked.

Members of Khanna’s delegation supported his claim.

The IDF is lying about the detention of Rep. Khanna.

I was on the ground with him that day, and my body camera captured us being detained by both settlers and Israeli soldiers. The IDF did not disperse the violent settlers, as they claim. They explicitly sided with them. pic.twitter.com/Ob4IA35dqh

— נדב וימן Nadav Weiman (@weimanadav) July 13, 2026

Rather than announcing an investigation, Israeli officials and Israel first politicians in the US launched political attacks against the congressman and questioned his motives.

Israel’s ambassador to the US, Michael Leiter, blamed Khanna for allegedly failing to coordinate his visit with the Israeli government.

Khanna rejected the allegation and insisted that Israel had been informed about his travel.

Republican Congressman Greg Murphy accused Khanna of carrying out a publicity stunt and questioned why he had travelled to the occupied Palestinian territory.

Khanna urged Murphy to be on “Team America” and support consequences for foreign settlers and soldiers who mistreat US citizens.

Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson also defended Khanna and criticised the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, for failing to speak publicly about the detention.

“An American member of Congress is threatened by foreign terrorists carrying American rifles, backed by a foreign military paid for by American taxpayers, and the US ambassador to that country says not a word in defence of his own countryman,” Carlson wrote.

An Amercian member of congress is threatened by foreign terrorists carrying American rifles, backed by a foreign military paid for by American taxpayers, and the US ambassador to that country says not a word in defense of his own countryman, and instead uses his social media… https://t.co/77oAr3PRgE

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) July 11, 2026

Former US ambassador to Israel David Friedman, however, accused Khanna of “self-victimisation” and alleged, without evidence, that the congressman had entered a restricted area deliberately to provoke a confrontation.

Khanna said the incident exposed “the arrogance of power” produced by decades of impunity.

“I saw the arrogance in the eyes of those settlers, 21- and 22-year-olds with guns, laughing that they had detained us, the arrogance of those young IDF soldiers that my tax dollars are funding – having no respect for the fact that they were detaining Americans, no respect that there was an American congressperson in that bus, and laughing when our translator told them that there are Americans there and the American embassy is concerned.”,” he told Reuters.

More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

In its July 2024 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice concluded that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and that its settlements violate international law.

Israeli settlers, often acting under the protection of occupation forces, regularly attack Palestinian communities, assault residents and destroy homes, vehicles, farms and livestock.

Khanna’s detention has also renewed scrutiny of Israel’s treatment of American citizens. Palestinian Americans have been killed and seriously injured by Israeli soldiers and settlers, while successive US administrations have failed to secure meaningful accountability.

READ: Poll: 40 % of non-religious US Jews accuse Israel of genocide in Gaza