Seyit Kurt
12 July 2026•Update: 13 July 2026
US Congressman Ro Khanna called Sunday for an investigation into armed Israeli occupiers and soldiers after he said his delegation had been detained during a visit to the occupied West Bank.
Israeli occupiers assaulted Rep. Khanna, a vocal critic of Israeli settlement policies, and briefly detained him Wednesday in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 and The New York Times cited Khanna as saying that he was detained for about 90 minutes in the Hebron area in the southern West Bank after occupiers blocked his path and prevented him from continuing his visit.
Speaking to NBC News, the California Democrat said armed Israeli occupiers carrying M4-style rifles stopped his delegation during a three-day trip to the territory.
Khanna said the occupiers kicked the tires of the delegation’s van, mocked and filmed its occupants, and prevented them from leaving.
“We were detained for about 20 minutes, fearful of our lives,” he said.
He alleged that four Israeli soldiers who later arrived at the scene continued to block the group and told the delegation’s translator that they were on the side of the occupiers.
Khanna said the delegation contacted the US Embassy and was allowed to proceed around 75 minutes after the incident began.
He urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to open investigations into the occupiers, their outpost and the actions of the four soldiers.
Khanna said security camera footage could help establish whether the soldiers took part in detaining American citizens, including a US government official.
Israel issues denial, Khanna rejects it
A US State Department official told Anadolu that Washington remains in regular contact with both Israeli and Palestinian authorities over security and stability in the West Bank.
“We are in regular dialogue with the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority about countering terrorism, illegal activities, extremism and improving stability in the West Bank,” the official said.
“We condemn criminal violence by any party in the West Bank,” the official added.
NBC News cited an Israeli military statement claiming that troops were quickly dispatched to the scene, dispersed "the Israeli civilians" and reopened the blocked road.
The military denied that its soldiers had taken part in blocking the delegation.
Khanna rejected that account, accusing the Israeli military of lying.
He also called for the occupiers involved to be prosecuted and alleged that they were connected to occupier Yinon Levi, whom he accused of violence against Palestinians.
“How dare they mistreat people with an American passport that way,” Khanna said.
Levi – also spelled Levy – has been accused by the Palestinian Health Ministry and Israeli human rights group B'Tselem of shooting and killing a Palestinian activist tied to the Oscar-winning film No Other Land in July 2025.
Levi was sanctioned by the administration of then-US President Joe Biden for violence against Palestinians before the sanctions were lifted in January 2025, shortly after current US President Donald Trump took office.
Khanna also responded on the US social media platform X to remarks by Israel's ambassador to the US, Michael Leiter, who told CBS News that Khanna's office had not alerted the US Embassy in Israel about the visit, saying there had only been "a question about visas," and claimed the congressman declined Israel's request to coordinate the trip.
"If a US Congressman & American citizens were detained illegally by settlers & the military of any other nation, the Ambassador would beg the American people for forgiveness and take action against the perpetrators. The height of arrogance," Khanna wrote.
