‘Calling for their arrest’: Dem lawmaker goes scorched earth after detention
Alexander Willis
July 12, 2026
RAW STORY
U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) speaks as he is interviewed by Reuters during a visit to Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 9, 2026. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is now calling for the “arrest and prosecution” of Israeli settlers he accused of detaining him earlier this week while traveling the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and accused the Israeli government of “lying” about him to “cover up” their involvement in the incident.
Khanna revealed earlier on Saturday that he had been detained by a group of Israeli settlers “brandishing American-made M4s,” and shared video of the incident on social media. He also claimed that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “sided with the settlers” and “continued” his detention.
The incident drew scattered bipartisan criticism, though some – including prominent right-wing influencer Laura Loomer and Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) – appeared to side with the Israeli government and condemn Khanna instead.
On Saturday evening, the conservative New York Post published a report claiming that during his trip to Israel and the West Bank, Khanna "blew off" an offer to meet with former Israeli hostages. While the Post did not disclose the identity of its source for the claim, Khanna suggested it had come from Israeli officials, whom he accused of lying.
“The Israeli government is lying to cover up for 4 IDF soldiers who aided violent settlers brandishing M4 guns and threatening American lives,” Khanna wrote Saturday night in a defiant social media post on X.
“I am calling for their arrest and prosecution. 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.”
The same day Khanna revealed he had been detained by Israeli settlers, a CNN crew and other journalists were also detained by settlers in the West Bank, which CNN described as an “attack.”
“The four settlers were wielding wooden and metal rods and stones. One settler brandished a knife and tried to puncture the tires of CNN’s vehicle,” CNN reported Saturday.
“The settlers then began to jump on the vehicle behind CNN’s – carrying another group of journalists – and smashed the windshield of that vehicle. Another group of settlers tried to block a separate exit route before chasing the journalists towards the town of Sinjil.”
More than 700,000 Israeli settlers illegally live in the West Bank, with instances of settler violence increasing over the past year. Approximately 1,732 incidents of settler violence “resulting in casualties or property damage” were documented in the 12-month period up to Oct. 31, 2025, according to a United Nations Human Rights Office report. Israeli settlers have also killed at least 15 Americans since 2003.
Machine Gun-Toting Israeli Settlers Detain Ro Khanna During Trip to Occupied West Bank
“These hoodlums come in with machine guns—M4, an American-made machine gun—and they detain us. They block off the road.”
Brad Reed
Jul 11, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
Rep. Ro Khanna this week was detained by a group of Israeli settlers whom he described as “hoodlums... with machine guns” while making a visit to a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank.
In an interview with Reuters published on Saturday, Khanna (D-Calif.) said he and his tour group were surrounded by armed settlers as they were traveling through the West Bank on Wednesday.
“We 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,” said Khanna. “And these hoodlums come in with machine guns—M4, an American-made machine gun—and they detain us. They block off the road.”
The California Democrat said that the settlers called in members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to help them deal with him and his group.
“The IDF is on their side,” Khanna remarked, “not on the side of the Americans.”
Cameron Kasky, an aide to Khanna, told Reuters that the group was held for over an hour before officials whom he believed to be police intervened and secured their release.
The IDF told Reuters that both military troops and police officers dispersed the settlers who had set up a roadblock near the small Palestinian village of Khirbet Zanuta.
Khanna wasn’t the only American to have a run-in with Israeli settlers this week, as CNN reported that four settlers attacked groups of journalists, including CNN reporters and crew, who were traveling through an area north of the Palestinian city of Ramallah on Saturday.
As the journalists were driving, four settlers blocked off the road with their cars and began attacking the reporters’ vehicles with wooden clubs and metal rods.
“The settlers then began to jump on the vehicle behind CNN’s—carrying another group of journalists—and smashed the windshield of that vehicle,” the network reported. “Another group of settlers tried to block a separate exit route before chasing the journalists towards the town of Sinjil.”
Israeli police arrived on the scene and arrested four settlers who were allegedly responsible for the attacks, CNN reported.
“The Israel Police and the IDF view any manifestation of violence or causing damage to property very seriously,” the Israeli officers said after the arrests, “especially when it concerns media personnel performing their work.”
Israeli settlers for years have carried out violent attacks on Palestinians living in the West Bank, and witnesses have regularly described IDF soldiers at the scene either standing by as the attacks occur or even actively helping the attackers.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that claims about settler violence have been “blown up beyond belief,” describing attacks as being carried out by a small number of “juvenile delinquents.”
“These hoodlums come in with machine guns—M4, an American-made machine gun—and they detain us. They block off the road.”
Brad Reed
Jul 11, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
Rep. Ro Khanna this week was detained by a group of Israeli settlers whom he described as “hoodlums... with machine guns” while making a visit to a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank.
In an interview with Reuters published on Saturday, Khanna (D-Calif.) said he and his tour group were surrounded by armed settlers as they were traveling through the West Bank on Wednesday.
“We 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,” said Khanna. “And these hoodlums come in with machine guns—M4, an American-made machine gun—and they detain us. They block off the road.”
The California Democrat said that the settlers called in members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to help them deal with him and his group.
“The IDF is on their side,” Khanna remarked, “not on the side of the Americans.”
Cameron Kasky, an aide to Khanna, told Reuters that the group was held for over an hour before officials whom he believed to be police intervened and secured their release.
The IDF told Reuters that both military troops and police officers dispersed the settlers who had set up a roadblock near the small Palestinian village of Khirbet Zanuta.
Khanna wasn’t the only American to have a run-in with Israeli settlers this week, as CNN reported that four settlers attacked groups of journalists, including CNN reporters and crew, who were traveling through an area north of the Palestinian city of Ramallah on Saturday.
As the journalists were driving, four settlers blocked off the road with their cars and began attacking the reporters’ vehicles with wooden clubs and metal rods.
“The settlers then began to jump on the vehicle behind CNN’s—carrying another group of journalists—and smashed the windshield of that vehicle,” the network reported. “Another group of settlers tried to block a separate exit route before chasing the journalists towards the town of Sinjil.”
Israeli police arrived on the scene and arrested four settlers who were allegedly responsible for the attacks, CNN reported.
“The Israel Police and the IDF view any manifestation of violence or causing damage to property very seriously,” the Israeli officers said after the arrests, “especially when it concerns media personnel performing their work.”
Israeli settlers for years have carried out violent attacks on Palestinians living in the West Bank, and witnesses have regularly described IDF soldiers at the scene either standing by as the attacks occur or even actively helping the attackers.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that claims about settler violence have been “blown up beyond belief,” describing attacks as being carried out by a small number of “juvenile delinquents.”
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