Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said he was detained by Israeli settlers for more than an hour while visiting the occupied West Bank, alleging members of the Israel Defense Forces spoke with the settlers and moved a vehicle to block the road rather than immediately clearing his passage.
Khanna described the incident in an interview first reported by The New York Times. A Times photojournalist accompanying the congressional delegation witnessed the encounter, according to the newspaper.
The incident comes as violence in the West Bank has drawn increasing international scrutiny. The United Nations says more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas terrorists' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Rights groups and Palestinian residents have reported a sharp increase in attacks by Israeli settlers, while Israel has continued expanding settlements in the territory.
Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization, says Israeli soldiers accused of harming Palestinians were indicted in fewer than 1% of 2,427 complaints filed between 2016 and 2024.
The West Bank is home to more than 700,000 Israeli settlers living in communities that the United Nations considers illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes. About 15% of settlers are Americans.
Khanna's account follows other high-profile incidents in the territory.
In May 2025, Israeli troops fired what the military described as warning shots near a delegation of foreign diplomats after officials said the group strayed into a restricted area.
The delegation included representatives from the European Union, Japan, and Russia.
Lawmakers from both parties have visited the West Bank since the war began, including House Speaker Mike Johnson in 2025 and Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
The episode also underscores Khanna's increasingly critical stance toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
Once viewed as a reliably pro-Israel Democrat who has affirmed Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, Khanna has since accused Netanyahu's government of violating human rights, called for ending U.S. military aid to Israel's current government, backed legislation characterizing Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide, and argued Israel should fund its own Iron Dome missile defense system.
"Regarding the Iron Dome, I have always believed that it saves lives and I believe in a secure Israel as a Jewish democratic state," Khanna told Jewish News Weekly in April.
"At the same time, Netanyahu's actions have become more extreme by the day and have threatened peace and human rights, and Israel can afford to pay for the Iron Dome on its own with its $45 billion defense budget."
Meanwhile, Khanna has continued to condemn antisemitism and says he supports a two-state solution and Israel's long-term security.