Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., claims his delegation was detained for 75 minutes by Israeli settlers armed with M4 rifles during a recent visit to the West Bank. However, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and other officials dispute Khanna's account, stating the U.S. Embassy was not informed of the visit and suggesting the incident was politically motivated.
Khanna stated that his group informed the Israeli embassy of their trip and that Deputy Chief of Mission David Brownstein from the U.S. embassy assisted in their release. "The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] has now clarified it was not a restricted zone and Israeli papers have confirmed this," Khanna wrote on X. He also asserted that "violent settlers who detained us need to be prosecuted and the IDF officers who furthered that detention need to be investigated."
Ambassador Huckabee, speaking to Fox News Digital, rejected Khanna's assertion that the embassy was notified. "The left-wing activist who set up this stunt says ‘The embassy is involved.’ That is NOT TRUE. We did NOT know a member of Congress was coming. We would have said don't go to restricted zone," Huckabee posted on X. He characterized the event as "not ‘held at gunpoint.’"
An IDF spokesperson told Fox News Digital that soldiers were dispatched to the area following reports of foreign nationals entering a location believed to be a closed military zone, and a separate report of a road blockage by Israeli civilians. The soldiers dispersed the Israeli civilians and waited for confirmation regarding the status of the area and the foreign nationals. The convoy was then allowed to proceed. The IDF stated the process took several minutes, with no physical confrontation or violence. The spokesperson noted that an armed individual present was an off-duty IDF soldier and that the visit had not been coordinated with the IDF, emphasizing that such coordination is intended to prevent such incidents.
Israel's Ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, also stated on X that Khanna was offered coordination for his visit by the State of Israel, which he chose to ignore. Leiter added that Khanna also did not coordinate with the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. "The Congressman used this instance as an opportunity to tout ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid’ libels to the press, propelling himself to the center of yet another anti-Israel media frenzy," Leiter wrote.
Khanna, in response to Leiter, maintained that his office had contacted the ambassador's office and expressed willingness to meet. He stated, "That’s what I believe happened and that’s what the U.N. believed happened." Khanna affirmed his rejection of Hamas terrorism and belief in Israel's right to exist, calling Hamas' charter "violent antisemitism" but declining to label Hamas a genocidal group.
Critics, including Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-NJ., have suggested Khanna's trip was a political stunt. Gottheimer criticized Khanna for not meeting with 10/7 survivors or visiting attack sites, instead focusing on a "presidential campaign cameo." Khanna responded that the trip's purpose was a Palestinian-led tour of the West Bank and that he had previously met with hostage families on earlier trips to Israel.
Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, described Khanna's visit as a "publicity stunt" potentially in advance of a 2028 presidential run. Diker stated that Khanna's visit to PLO-PA villages was conducted without security or diplomatic coordination with Israeli authorities and noted Khanna's history of pro-Palestinian activism.
Footage released by activists on Khanna's team was also presented as debunking the claim of a violent detainment. An Israeli security official told the Press Service of Israel that Khanna’s delegation did not coordinate their arrival, a standard practice for foreign lawmaker visits to sensitive areas. The official noted that Israeli civilian security personnel arrived and blocked the delegation before troops intervened, dispersing the civilians and resolving the obstruction.