US Congressman Ro Khanna accused the Israeli government and military of "lying" on Sunday about his detention by armed settlers and Israeli soldiers during a recent visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
Khanna, a California Democrat, posted video evidence on social media of Israeli settlers and soldiers blocking his convoy on Wednesday in the South Hebron hills, near the village of Zanuta, where Israelis have driven Palestinians from their homes in what Amnesty International calls a government-backed "ethnic cleansing campaign."
During an interview with NBC News' Meet the Press on Sunday, Khanna was asked about the Israeli military's claim that its soldiers "quickly dispersed" the Israeli civilians and reopened the blocked road.
"The IDF is lying," Khanna said, referring to the Israel Defense Forces. "What happened was unprecedented. They had violent settlers detain American citizens, including an American government official. You had these settlers brandishing M4 rifles, kicking the tires of our van, laughing at us, mocking us, videotaping us."
"We were detained for about 20 minutes, fearful of our lives. Then the IDF comes, four soldiers. They tell our translator that they're on the side of the settlers. They further detain us and block us in."
Khanna was also asked about comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who appeared before him on Meet the Press and called the armed settlers who stopped the congressman's vehicle a small band of "juvenile delinquents." Netanyahu maintained they are not part of what he called the "law-abiding" community of Israeli settlers.
Every Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law.
"I heard the prime minister, and he said Israel is a country of law and order," Khanna replied. "Let me be very specific: the prime minister needs to open an investigation on these violent settlers who are connected to Yinon Levi, who has destroyed Zanuta's village and is a known person who has killed Palestinians." Levi was recorded on video about a year earlier firing what appeared to be a fatal shot that killed Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen in the same region. Despite video evidence, Levi was not prosecuted by Israeli authorities.
Khanna added: "Netanyahu needs to have an investigation on these four IDF officers. Security cameras can see that they were involved in the detention of American citizens. How dare they mistreat people with an American passport that way?"
Israeli officials responded to Khanna's detention by claiming that he had rejected their effort to shape his visit by adding a meeting with former Israeli hostages held in Gaza after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. They told the New York Post: "Congressman Khanna didn't come to understand the situation – he came looking for a headline."
Khanna responded on social media: "The Israeli government is lying to cover up for 4 IDF soldiers who aided violent settlers. I have met with Israeli hostages and condemned the brutal, terrorist attacks of Oct 7. That does not excuse the IDF from detaining American citizens."
In an interview on CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday, Israel's ambassador to the US, Michael Leiter, accused Khanna of visiting the West Bank as a political stunt – both to distract from his past support of Graham Platner and to promote his potential run for the White House in 2028.
Leiter first complained that Khanna had shunned the Israeli government's effort to help plan his trip, choosing instead to work with dissident groups like Breaking the Silence. He then suggested that the timing of Khanna's visit and revelation of his detention was suspicious: "To have this incident on Wednesday and wait to release it on Saturday, maybe this had more something to do with his support of Graham Platner beforehand and the difficulties he had with that, and trying to shift the focus to something else."
Leiter's theory that Khanna went to the West Bank to shift attention away from Platner elicited an audible laugh from Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan. After Brennan interjected to say that Khanna had asked for the news to be held until after he left Israeli-controlled territory, Leiter further accused the congressman of making the visit to appeal to Democratic voters in the US.
Khanna's account was supported by Nadav Weiman, director of Breaking the Silence, who accompanied him. "Armed settlers were the first to arrive, they intimidated us. Then the army came, but instead of protecting us, they sided with the settlers," Weiman said.