Leftist millionaire congressman claims he was unlawfully detained in West Bank * WorldNetDaily * by Bob Unruh
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.
A leftist member of Congress, multimillionaire Ro Khanna, a Democrat representing a California district in the U.S. House, is claiming he was illegally detained while traveling in the West Bank.
“They made a huge mistake,” he said, in a report in the Washington Examiner on what he said happened.
Israeli settlers, brandishing American made M4s, detained me & other Americans on my trip to Palestine.
When the IDF arrived, they sided with the settlers & continued our detention.
They made a huge mistake.
You will be hearing more soon. https://t.co/rZw8bRAn64 pic.twitter.com/4z50Ye4I7K
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) July 11, 2026
Congressman Ro Khanna said he was detained by Israeli settlers for over an hour while visiting the West Bank. Khanna also said members of the Israel Defense Forces spoke with the settlers and moved a car to block the road.
Khanna’s experience was first reported by The New York… pic.twitter.com/zIsc7h1yrh
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 11, 2026
The alleged incident took place on Wednesday. The story is just coming out today on Saturday when most of the Israeli government is off for the Sabbath and not available to respond. I doubt that is a coincidence. Maybe the Khanna Class and New York Times are telling the truth,… https://t.co/ejdZ5URGQb
— William A. Jacobson (@wajacobson) July 11, 2026
Khanna said he was on a trip “to Palestine” where he claimed to have been detained by unidentified “Israeli settlers.” He said they were “brandishing American-made M4s.”
Further, he claimed the Israeli military then arrived and “they sided with the settlers & continued our detention.”
He explained the encounter in an interview with the New York Times, charging that a car loaded with men holding guns blocked the road he was on and began taunting him and his team.
They even kicked his car, the report charged.
When the Israeli military arrived, the report said, the “settlers” left but the military continued blocking the road, he claimed.
His conclusion? The episode would inspire him to demand “Palestinian rights” whenever and wherever he goes in his campaigns.
“I felt powerless in that situation, which is not an easy thing, as I have a lot of privilege in life,” he explained, in the report. “Imagine how people feel every day, Palestinians under the occupation, if they could make an American congressperson feel powerless for 90 minutes.”
Now, he said, “I’m going to go to every corner of America, regardless of whether I run or not, and tell their stories and tell the story of what is happening in the West Bank.”
The West Bank has been battled over for decades. The main focus is whether it should be governed by Israel, to which the region has been tied for years, or a still-to-be-created “Palestinian” state there.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said violence in the West Bank of late has been triggered by a gang of “juvenile delinquents” who are actually not part of the community there.
“This is blown up beyond belief and causes a lot of damage,” he said during a recent interview. “I want to put that in perspective. It’s not the settler community, because they, the settler community, condemn them. It’s not the people of Israel, because we condemn them. It’s not the government of Israel. It’s, I would say, a violation of basic norms of our country. We don’t accept it. I don’t accept it.”
Some media outlets have identified him as a possible contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, but that party has yet to coalesce around a leader and a message after Kamala Harris’ catastrophically failed 2024 campaign for the Oval Office.
He long has promoted the ideology of climate change, supports a “Medicare for all” plan and pushes for LGBT influence.
Bob Unruh