Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who represents Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Milpitas, and part of San Jose, was on a three-day tour of the West Bank when he said he was detained Saturday by Israeli settlers and military personnel.

As the Associated Press reports, a representative of Congressman Ro Khanna confirmed that he had been detained following a confronation in the Palestinian village of Khirbet Zanuta, which had been abandoned after attacks by Israeli settlers. Khanna's group was reportedly first confronted by a group of armed men who allegedly taunted and yelled at them in Hebrew and Arabic.

The New York Times confirmed that one of its photographers witnessed the confrontation from another vehicle, and that members of the Israeli military then arrived in two vehicles.

Khanna told the AP that he was "dispirited" to see the Israeli soldiers interact in a friendly manner with the armed settlers, smoking cigarettes with them, and then proceeding to block them from leaving the area. He was reportedly detained and kept from leaving for 90 minutes.

"If this can happen to an American member of Congress, imagine what life is like for Palestinians who have no smartphones, no security, and no national platform," Khanna said to the AP.

He added, to the Times, "I felt powerless in that situation, which is not an easy thing, as I have a lot of privilege in life."

A spokesperson for the Israeli military confirmed that they had dispatched soldiers to reopen the road and stop Israeli citizens from unlawfully blockading it, but they denied that the soldiers played in role in detaining anyone.

As the Times notes, Khanna appears to be following in the footsteps of many presidential hopefuls of the recent past, who typically travel to Israel to burnish "their foreign policy credentials," and usually have friendly meetings with Israeli leaders. But Khanna, an outspoken progressive, clearly seems to have take the trip for a purpose antagonistic to Israel, to be able to appeal to progressive voters in the US who believe Israel has conducted an ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people — and his visit to this particular abandoned village site was part and parcel of that.

Khanna is likely planning to announce a run for the presidency in 2028.

Top image: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) questions U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as he testifies before the House Armed Services Committee April 29, 2026 in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC. Hegseth testified on the Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)