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Democrat Representative Ro Khanna said he hopes Israeli authorities will bring charges against several armed Israeli settlers and Israel Defense Forces ( IDF ) soldiers who he says detained him and others in his delegation during a visit to the West Bank earlier this week.

“I expect Israel will prosecute the violent settlers and IDF soldiers who detained American citizens,” the congressman told Newsweek in an email Saturday regarding the incident.

When asked about the interaction, the IDF told Newsweek in an email that “the identity of the armed individual is currently under review.”

Newsweek has reached out to the Israeli police and the U.S. State Department for comment via email on Saturday.

What Happened During Khanna’s Encounter

During the congressional summer recess, Khanna was on a three-day trip through Israel and the West Bank, where he visited several Palestinian communities and met with local leaders, business owners and residents.

He told Reuters on Thursday that he and his team were “at a village that Israeli settlers had destroyed, they had destroyed the school, they had destroyed that village, and we were just looking at it.”

Many residents of the West Bank village of Khirbet Zanuta fled in late 2023 amid a surge in violence following Hamas ' October 7 attack on Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage. Israel responded with an intense military campaign in Gaza , killing over 73,000 Palestinians and causing mass displacement.

On the other side of the country, Palestinians and rights groups reported an increase in settler violence and pressure on some West Bank communities.

When residents of Khirbet Zanuta returned months later, they found widespread destruction, and "nearly all the houses in the village, a health clinic and a school were destroyed,” the Associated Press reported in September 2024.

While there, Khanna told Reuters that suddenly, “these hoodlums come in with machine guns – M4, an American-made machine gun – and they detain us.”

Khanna shared a photo and video of the July 8 interaction in a Saturday X post, showing armed individuals and cars blocking the road. He reiterated in his post, “Israeli settlers, brandishing American made M4s, detained me & other Americans on my trip to Palestine.” M4 carbine is an American assault rifle. A masked individual can be seen in the photo.

In his statement to Newsweek , the congressman said, “If they will do this to an American congressman, imagine what is happening to Palestinian families who are just trying to live.”

About an hour later, according to his aides, the cars moved and Khanna was permitted to continue his trip. He told Newsweek, “I am grateful to David Brownstein of the American embassy for helping rescue us.”

Khanna said when the IDF came on scene they did not immediately help the American lawmaker. “When the IDF arrived, they sided with the settlers & continued our detention. They made a huge mistake,” he wrote in his X.

The IDF told Newsweek they received a report on Wednesday “regarding Israeli civilians who were unlawfully blocking the vehicles of foreign nationals and members of the media in the area of Khirbet Zanuta.”

“Upon receiving the report, IDF troops were dispatched to the scene, quickly dispersed the Israeli civilians, and reopened the blocked road. The IDF soldiers operating in the area did not take part in blocking the road,” the statement said.

Khanna wrote in his X post that more information will come soon, and on Saturday progressive political commentator Hasan Piker announced the congressman will appear on his show Monday.

The confrontation drew attention because it involved a sitting U.S. lawmaker alleging that armed Israeli settlers and IDF soldiers participated in detaining American citizens in the West Bank.

Increasing West Bank Violence

Khanna's encounter comes amid growing international scrutiny of settler violence in the West Bank and conditions faced by Palestinians in the territory.

The incident occurred amid a broader rise in violence across the West Bank since Hamas' 2023 attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that 63 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank this year, and over 1,109, including 243 children, since October 7, 2023.

More than 2,300 Palestinians have been displaced across the West Bank this year “due to settler attacks and related access restrictions,” the UN agency said in its July report.

“No American would support this if they knew the details of what was going on here,” Khanna told the New York Times , noting, “We really saw the apartheidlike conditions, the inequality.”

He told Reuters, “If you're unwilling to ​speak up for Palestinian ⁠human rights, if you're unwilling to speak up against the genocide in Gaza, the apartheid in the West Bank, then you are morally compromised.”

Khanna has been among the most outspoken Democratic critics of Israel's conduct in Gaza and the West Bank, frequently calling attention to Palestinian rights and U.S. support for Israel.

Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations that its policies amount to apartheid and denied allegations that its conduct during the war in Gaza constitutes genocide.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion concluding that Israel's continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and that it should end its occupation, cease new settlement activity, evacuate settlers and provide reparations to Palestinians whose property was damaged or seized. In September 2024, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Israel to end what it described as its unlawful presence in the territories within 12 months. Israel rejected both the advisory opinion and the General Assembly resolution.

In a March report 2024 by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) it was noted that approximately 700,000 Israeli settlers lived in the West Bank as of September 2023 and "the size of existing Israeli settlements has expanded at the highest rate since monitoring began in 2017."

Changing U.S. Views on Israel

The U.S. is a close ally of Israel, providing billions in military aid and diplomatic support. Public opinion, however, has shifted in the U.S. since October 2023, with recent polling showing Americans have become more divided over U.S. support for Israel.

A June AP-NORC poll found that 58 percent of Democrats said the U.S. is too supportive of Israel, up from 45 percent in January 2024, while 60 percent of Republicans said the current level of U.S. support is “about right.”

Overall, 31 percent of U.S. adults said they believe Israel's military actions in Gaza constitute genocide, while 49 percent said they did not know enough to say and 20 percent said they did not believe they constitute genocide.

The survey also found Democrats have become increasingly supportive of Palestinians while support for Israel has declined within the party. Sixty-two percent of Democrats said the U.S. is not supportive enough of Palestinians, up from 49 percent in January 2024.

A May Reuters/Ipsos poll found Democrats favorability of Israel had fell from 59 percent in 2018 to 22 percent.

Is Khanna Running for President in 2028?

When asked by Reuters if he was running for president, Khanna said: "I'm strongly considering it, and I'm more resolved to consider it after this trip."

The congressman suggested that Israel and Palestinian rights could become a central issue in any future White House campaign he pursues.

The Democrat said he believed his party was "clueless about how much of a moral test Palestine, Gaza and Israel have become." The war in Gaza emerged as a flashpoint during the 2024 presidential election. In Michigan, organizers encouraged Democrats dissatisfied with then-President Joe Biden's handling of the conflict to vote "uncommitted" in the state's presidential primary. More than 100,000 voters did so, underscoring divisions within the Democratic Party over U.S. policy toward Israel.

Khanna later said to the Times : "Free advice to the Israelis: It's not a good idea to detain long-shot presidential candidates," adding, "Not how you’re going to build good will with the next American president, whoever that is."

While no major candidates have formally launched 2028 presidential campaigns, Khanna is among several Democrats viewed as possible contenders. He is currently seeking reelection to represent California's 17th Congressional District.

Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Steve Mollman and Anthony Murray .

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