US congressman says he was detained by armed Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank | Israel

US congressman Ro Khanna said that armed Israeli settlers detained him during his recent visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, describing this experience as a first-hand view of the realities faced by Palestinians living under occupation.

In an interview with Reuters The progressive U.S. House Democrat from California, who is from a Palestinian village on Thursday, said his detention took place the day before while his delegation was visiting an area of ​​the southern West Bank that has been subject to repeated attacks by Israeli settlers.

Khanna described how settlers carrying US-made M4 rifles surrounded the group’s van.

“We were in a village that Israeli settlers had destroyed; they had destroyed the school, they had destroyed that village, and we were just looking at it,” Khanna said.

Referring to the Israel Defense Forces, which is partly funded by US military aid, Khanna continued: “And these goons… they’re detaining us. They’re blocking the road. Then they call the IDF, and the IDF is on their side, not the Americans’.”

Khanna also told Reuters: “I saw the arrogance in the eyes of the 21- and 22-year-old armed settlers, the arrogance of the young IDF soldiers funded by my tax money, laughing that they were detaining us; they didn’t respect the fact that they were detaining Americans, they didn’t respect the fact that there was an American congressman on that bus, and they were laughing when our translator told them there were Americans there and the American embassy was interested.”

Khanna added that the encounter showed “the arrogance of a power with no accountability, complete impunity” and that this had created a toxic culture of oppression.

New York Times We first reported Khanna’s account on Saturday morning. She told the press: “I felt powerless in this situation, which is not an easy thing to do because I have so many privileges in life.

“Imagine how people would feel every day if occupied Palestinians could make an American congressman feel powerless for 90 minutes.”

Khanna said he and his group were able to continue their travels after contacting the US embassy and Israeli police.

According to Reuters, the Israeli army said soldiers and police responded after receiving a report that settlers were blocking vehicles near Khirbet Zanuta.

Khirbet Zanuta is a Palestinian hamlet whose residents were forced to flee the area following violent raids by settlers following Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023.

Asked by Reuters if he would like to run for president, Khanna said: “I’m definitely considering it. And after this trip, I’m more determined to consider it.”

More than 700,000 Israelis live in settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The United Nations considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal, and Israel has repeatedly faced criticism for violence and other actions by settlers in the area.

Since Israel seized control of the West Bank in 1967, restrictions imposed there have prevented the region from developing a self-sufficient economy. These restrictions intensified significantly after the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Approximately 300,000 Palestinians lost their jobs in the West Bank and Israel.

A report published in June by the UN independent international commission of inquiry concluded that “Israeli authorities and security forces deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes in the Gaza Strip, and war crimes in the West Bank.”

According to data from the human rights organization Yesh Din, no Israeli has been charged with the killing of a Palestinian since October 2023.

Khanna has been one of the most outspoken critics of the war in Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank in the US Congress, often at odds with the establishment of his own party. He was released in May a video He criticizes the Democratic National Committee’s incomplete autopsy report on the party’s defeat at the hands of Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

Gaza was not mentioned in the autopsy. “As someone who campaigned in Michigan and Wisconsin, let me tell you, one of the reasons we lost is because of the blank check we gave to Israel,” Khanna said in his video. [prime minister Benjamin] While Netanyahu is committing genocide in Gaza.

“If this party is to win the 2028 presidential election, we must speak and face the hard truths,” he added.

Reuters contributed reporting