Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who is facing backlash at home after supporting a Maine Senate candidate with a Nazi tattoo who dropped out after being accused of rape, said on Saturday that he had been detained by “settlers” during a trip to Israel.
“Israeli settlers, brandishing American made M4s, detained me and other Americans on my trip to Palestine,” he said.
The United States does not recognize an independent state of “Palestine.”
The Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday that the incident occurred on Wednesday, when it received a report that Israeli civilians were “unlawfully blocking the vehicles of foreign nationals and members of the media in the area of Khirbet Zanuta, within the Judea Regional Brigade.”
“Upon receiving the report, IDF troops were dispatched to the scene, quickly dispersed the Israeli civilians, and reopened the blocked road. The IDF soldiers operating in the area did not take part in blocking the road,” the military said in a statement to JNS. “The identity of the armed individual is currently under review.”
However, the Israel Police, whose officers joined IDF troops at the scene, told JNS that Khanna’s group had entered a closed military zone and was stopped by soldiers.
“By law, civilian access to these areas is prohibited for safety and security reasons,” police said, adding that officers “witnessed no violence at the scene.”
“A review of body-worn camera footage confirms that the group leader was explicitly warned by officers, as this was not his first time violating the closed military zone order. He was issued a final warning that any future violations would result in immediate arrest,” the statement said. “The tour participants were briefed on the military order and were allowed to leave the restricted area.”
JNS also sought comment from the Israeli government and the congressman.
“When the IDF arrived, they sided with the settlers and continued our detention,” Khanna said in a social media post, in which he shared a four-second video. “They made a huge mistake. You will be hearing more soon.”
In response to a comment from a co-founder of Democratic Majority for Israel, Khanna said, “let’s put politics aside.”
“Would you join in calling for the arrest of the settlers who threatened us with M4 guns and of the four IDF soldiers, who aided them in detaining American citizens?” the congressman said. “Surely we can agree that threatening holders of an American passport should have consequences.”
Khanna’s colleague Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) wrote that the congressman’s post “sounds like another plea for publicity.”
“Anything to get in front of the camera,” Murphy wrote. “Why else would you be there? It isn’t your country.”
Other colleagues, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of Israel’s harshest critics in Congress, came to Khanna’s defense.
Omar called the incident “absolutely vile” and said that American tax dollars were being used to “terrorize Palestinians and U.S. citizens” and that the Jewish state is a “genocidal apartheid regime.”
Khanna, who has accused Israel of commiting “genocide,” told the New York Times that it was “not a good idea to detain long-shot presidential candidates.”
