US Democratic lawmaker Ro Khanna said he was detained by Israeli settlers armed with semi-automatic rifles during a West Bank visit this week. Khanna, a progressive lawmaker from California, was touring a part of the southern West Bank where residents face frequent settler attacks.
Detention and Release
Khanna’s group’s van was surrounded by settlers wielding semi-automatic rifles a day earlier while touring a village that Israeli settlers had destroyed. The settlers blocked off the road and called the Israeli military, which intervened and led to their release.
An aide to Khanna, Cameron Kasky, said they were held for more than an hour and made appeals to the US Embassy in Jerusalem for help. A group of officers who appeared to be police eventually intervened, leading to their release.
US-Israel Relations
Israel’s conduct toward Palestinians has emerged as a flashpoint in Democratic politics ahead of November’s US midterm elections, contributing to primary defeats for some incumbent lawmakers targeted by left-wing challengers who accused them of supporting Israel’s right-wing government.
Khanna is the second Democrat considering a White House bid to visit the region this week. In Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Rahm Emanuel, who was chief of staff to former President Barack Obama, said Israeli policies toward Palestinians were eroding support for the US-Israeli alliance.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
