Ro Khanna condemns Israel after IDF detention in the West Bank
Congressman Ro Khanna says he was detained by Israeli settlers and the IDF during a West Bank trip, and calls the situation apartheid — a damning account for Israel and a challenge to US silence.
- Khanna, four Americans, and Palestinians were blocked in a van for 75 minutes by armed young settlers while Israeli soldiers sided with the settlers, not them.
- Body-camera and video footage that surfaced backs up the account, contradicting Netanyahu, who blamed a handful of "juvenile delinquents" and insisted Israel is a nation of laws.
- The settlers are tied to Yinon Levy, who Khanna says murdered a Palestinian on camera and still walks free, undercutting Israel's claim it enforces the law.
- Khanna, who is of Indian descent, says he was singled out at every checkpoint for his brown skin and felt racism firsthand.
- The Trump administration stayed silent; only a career embassy official helped, and no arrests or investigations have followed.
Outlook: Khanna plans to release videos of Palestinian daily life and urges other US politicians to visit, expecting Israel to keep trying to block and discredit such trips.