On Wednesday, July 8, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) was visiting the ruins of Khirbet Zanuta — a Palestinian Bedouin village in the southern West Bank that settlers depopulated in 2023 — when armed settlers in pickup trucks blocked his van on a narrow dirt road. Khanna's group couldn't leave for roughly 60 to 90 minutes, until Israeli police arrived and the settlers dispersed. Khanna posted video on Saturday and appeared on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, saying "The IDF is lying. What happened was unprecedented" and calling for the prosecution of the settlers and soldiers involved. Israel's ambassador disputed the characterization the same morning on CBS Face the Nation.

1. Khanna: The IDF Sided With the Settlers (Rep. Ro Khanna, Breaking the Silence)

Khanna says IDF soldiers stood with the settlers rather than clearing the road, and that the weapons used to threaten his group were American-made.

Settlers blocked the road and the IDF didn't stop them. After about 20 minutes of confrontation with armed settlers, IDF soldiers arrived. Khanna says they socialized with settlers instead of intervening and repositioned a vehicle to extend the blockade. Nadav Weiman — an Israeli military veteran who runs Breaking the Silence and organized the trip — was present and told the Jerusalem Post that soldiers said they were waiting for local police. Settlers fled roughly two minutes before police arrived.

The weapons were American-made M4 rifles. Khanna said settlers "paraded around the van, laughing, smiling, brandishing the M4s" for close to an hour. "If this can happen to an American member of Congress," Khanna said, "imagine what life is like for Palestinians who have no smartphones, no security, and no national platform." The US sends Israel $3.8 billion in military aid each year. The Israeli government has handed out firearms to up to 600 settlement "security squads" in the West Bank.

Khanna is calling for prosecutions. He told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to investigate and said: "I expect Israel will prosecute the violent settlers and IDF soldiers who detained American citizens." He also said the experience made him "more resolved" to consider a 2028 presidential run.

2. Israel: He Staged It for the Camera (Ambassador Leiter, Rep. Murphy)

Israel says he staged the confrontation for a presidential run — and that nobody aimed a gun at him.

Nobody aimed a gun at Khanna. Israel's Ambassador Yechiel Leiter appeared on Face the Nation and stated: "No guns were pointed at him. It's a characterization far beyond what actually took place." Leiter is American-born; Trump appointed him in January 2025. The Mediaite opinion page argued Khanna's own video "shows the exact opposite" of detention — a road dispute, not an armed standoff.

Khanna didn't go through proper channels. Leiter said Khanna's office sent "a question about visas. That's all. There was a question. There was not an alert." He added that Khanna "decided to coordinate his trip not with Israel, but with Palestinian activists and with J Street." Khanna contested this, saying he did notify Israel of the trip but wanted a Palestinian-led itinerary.

Republicans say he went looking for the confrontation. Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) said the incident was "another plea for publicity. Anything to get in front of the camera." Conservative commentators noted Khanna brought a New York Times photographer, sent a fundraising email about the incident, and announced his 2028 presidential consideration on the same trip. Republican strategist Liz Mair: "He was looking to bank this photo op and by God, he banked this photo op."

3. But the IDF Called the Blockade Unlawful (Jerusalem Post, IDF Statement)

Israel's own military statement confirms the blockade happened. Under Israel's best telling, soldiers still took over 40 additional minutes to clear it.

The blockade itself isn't in dispute — the IDF called it unlawful. Israel's military statement said it "received a report of Israeli civilians unlawfully blocking the vehicles of foreign nationals" near Khirbet Zanuta and that troops "quickly dispersed the Israeli civilians and reopened the road." Those words concede the core of what Khanna described — armed civilians blocked his vehicle illegally.

Israeli soldiers mishandled the situation even under Israel's best telling. The Jerusalem Post — a conservative Israeli paper, not a sympathetic outlet — acknowledged soldiers "did not really actively try to move the settlers out of the area" and failed to verify Khanna's congressional status, causing an extra 20 to 40 minute delay. The Post called it "a series of confusing and incompetent actions."

The US hasn't said anything. The State Department has not issued a statement. Khanna said Sunday he hadn't spoken to the White House or State Department but planned to ask them to get a commitment from Israel on the four soldiers. The Leahy Law bars US assistance to foreign military units credibly accused of human rights abuses; the US has never designated any Israeli military unit under it.

Where This Lands

Khanna wants the settlers and soldiers prosecuted and says the US government needs to demand accountability. Israel says he staged the confrontation for a presidential run and that nobody aimed a weapon at him. The IDF's own statement called the settler blockade "unlawful" — confirming the core event happened. What soldiers did about it is what's disputed. The Trump administration hasn't commented publicly. Khanna said he hasn't spoken to the White House or State Department yet.

Sources