Congressman Ro Khanna denounces that Israeli soldiers held him in the West Bank
The Democratic legislator assured that the incident reflects the impunity with which, he claims, armed groups operate.
US Congressman Ro Khanna denounced this Saturday that armed Israeli settlers recently detained him during a visit to the occupied West Bank, in an act he described as the “arrogance of power” that has not been held accountable.
Khanna, Democrat of California, published on his X account a segment of an interview in which he denounced the event that occurred last Wednesday when, together with a delegation, he visited an area in the southern West Bank.
The US House of Representatives representative explained that he was held with the delegation despite a translator informing them that there were Americans on the stopped bus.
“I saw the arrogance in the eyes of those settlers — armed young men of 21 and 22 years old — who were laughing for having detained us,” the congressman reproached in the video.
In addition, he noted that the settlers, supposed members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), are financed with taxes from the Americans.
“They showed no respect for the fact that they were holding American citizens or for the presence of a member of the US Congress on the bus,” he added.
Khanna, who has criticized Israel's lack of accountability for US aid, became the first US congressman held in that region, after politicians from both parties have visited the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza.
House Speaker Mike Johnson visited the territory in September 2025, while Democrats Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley also toured the area last year.
“It is the arrogance of power: a power that is unaccountable, that enjoys total impunity, and that has created a toxic culture of oppression,” insisted Khanna, representative of California's 17th congressional district, which covers much of Silicon Valley. Born to immigrant parents from India, Khanna is known for his progressive stances on economic policy, technology regulation, manufacturing and innovation.
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