US lawmaker slams Israeli army after settlers detain him on Palestine trip

US lawmaker slams Israeli army after settlers detain him on Palestine tripDemocrat Ro Khanna accuses soldiers of supporting the settlers, warning that Israeli forces made a ‘huge mistake’.Published On 11 Jul 2026A Democratic lawmaker from the United States says he and his tour group were detained by rifle-wielding Israeli settlers during a trip to Palestine.In a post on X on Saturday, Ro Khanna accused the Israeli army of supporting the settlers.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3US measure to deepen Israel military cooperation faces bipartisan pushbacklist 2 of 3Block the bombs: Support grows for US bill to restrict arms for Israellist 3 of 3US congressman demands probe into Israel’s 1967 attack on USS Libertyend of list“When the [Israeli army] arrived, they sided with the settlers and continued our detention,” Khanna wrote, saying he will release more details about the ordeal soon.The incident has drawn renewed attention to settler violence in the occupied West Bank, which has surged since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza nearly three years ago.Rights groups say settlers have been emboldened by the Israeli government, while Amnesty International has accused Israel of carrying out a state-backed campaign of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Last month, several Western countries sanctioned networks linked to settler violence.Khanna, who is considering running for US president in 2028, warned that the Israelis had made a “huge mistake”.On Thursday, he told the Reuters news agency that “hoodlums … with machine guns” had detained his group a day earlier. “They block off the road. And then they call the [Israeli military] and the [Israeli military] is on their side,” Khanna said.He added that the settlers were armed with US-made assault rifles.In an interview with DRM News, Khanna said his experience in the occupied West Bank and Israel was the “first time” he had “really been acutely aware of being brown”.“I saw the arrogance in the eyes of those settlers. Twenty-one and 22-year-olds with guns, laughing that they had detained us. The arrogance of those young [Israeli army] soldiers that my tax dollars are funding. Having no respect for the fact that they were detaining Americans,” he added.Cameron Kasky, an aide to Khanna who was in the group, said they were held for more than an hour and made appeals to the US embassy in Jerusalem for help.