US Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, said he was detained by Israeli settlers and the Israeli military in the West Bank. He was released only after calls to the American Embassy in Jerusalem.
Incident Details
The incident occurred on Wednesday during a three-day tour of the West Bank. Khanna’s group was stopped by masked men with guns in the town of Khirbet Zanuta. The Israeli Defense Forces denied detaining any visitors in the incident.
Khanna said that when Israeli soldiers arrived, they interacted in a friendly manner with the settlers and blocked the exit for his group. The group was allowed to proceed only after the US Embassy and Israeli police were called.
Reaction and Context
Democratic politicians from the US have stepped up their criticism of Israel amid a sharp turn against the country by the party’s voters since the war in Gaza began. A recent survey found that about 58% of Democrats said the US is ‘too supportive’ of Israelis.
The West Bank has seen a surge of settlement construction and settler violence against Palestinians in recent years. Israeli officials have condemned particularly grave violence by settlers, but attackers are rarely punished.
Original reporting: KCCI Des Moines — read the source article.
