Ro Khanna Demands Prosecution After West Bank Detention

U.S. Representative Ro Khanna and his delegation were detained for approximately 75 to 90 minutes on Wednesday, July 9, 2026, near the Palestinian village of Khirbet Zanuta in the occupied West Bank. Khanna alleges that settlers armed with American-made M4 rifles surrounded his van and mocked the group. He further claims that four Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers arrived and sided with the settlers, prolonging the detention until the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and Israeli police were contacted.

The IDF and Israel Police dispute this account. The military maintains that troops were dispatched to disperse civilians who were unlawfully blocking vehicles and deny that soldiers participated in the blockade. The Israel Police stated the group had entered a closed military zone and were stopped for safety reasons.

Khanna has called for the arrest and prosecution of the involved soldiers and settlers, alleging the group is connected to Yinon Levi, a settler facing charges for a 2025 killing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by stating Israel is a country of laws and does not want vigilantes, though he characterized most settlers as law-abiding. Israeli Ambassador Michael Leiter criticized Khanna for failing to coordinate the trip with the Israeli government.

The incident occurred amid a surge of violence in the West Bank, including settler attacks on agricultural land near Nablus and Jenin, as well as an assault on CNN journalists near Sinjil that resulted in four arrests.