U.S. Democratic Representative Ro Khanna says he is detained by Israeli settlers during a visit to the occupied West Bank. Khanna tells Reuters that his delegation’s vehicle was surrounded on Wednesday by Israeli settlers carrying rifles, including M4s described by Khanna as American-made, while touring a southern West Bank area where residents face frequent settler attacks. He says the settlers blocked the road and detained the group for more than an hour, and that they appealed to the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem for assistance.
An aide, Cameron Kasky, says their appeals were followed by intervention from officers who appeared to be police, which led to Khanna’s release after the road was cleared. Israeli military officials say troops and police intervened after receiving a report that settlers were blocking vehicles near Khirbet Zanuta, a small Palestinian hamlet whose residents were forcibly displaced after violent settler raids. The Israeli military states the troops dispersed the settlers and allowed the vehicles to continue.
The Israeli police and the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem do not respond immediately to requests for comment, according to the reporting.
