by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News July 12, 2026
Leftist California Rep. Ro Khanna was blocked by Israeli settlers and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) after allegedly attempting to sneak into a restricted military zone in the West Bank without proper coordination, reports say.
Khanna was trying “to stage a woke, anti-Israel photo op” but “instead of the heroic footage he wanted, ‘armed Israeli settlers’ blocked the road to protect their communities amid relentless terrorist threats. When IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers arrived, they enforced the law,” The Gateway Pundit reported on Sunday.
The incident occurred on Wednesday in the southern West Bank near the Palestinian village of Khirbet Zanuta, according to a Reuters report. A group of armed settlers reportedly carrying U.S.-made M4 rifles, blocked the narrow road out of the village, surrounded Khanna’s minibus and refused to let his group leave.
The IDF stated that, upon receiving a report of Israeli civilians “unlawfully blocking the vehicles of foreign nationals,” troops were dispatched to disperse the civilians and quickly reopened the blocked road.
Khanna’s group was eventually allowed to proceed after intervention by officers who appeared to be police, according to reports.
Khanna, who is weighing a 2028 presidential run, contends that the IDF’s account of the incident is a lie: “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.”
When asked by Reuters whether he was considering a presidential run, Khanna replied: “I’m strongly considering it and I’m more resolved to consider it after this trip.”
Khanna claims the IDF “sided with the settlers,” showed “arrogance,” and had “no respect” for the fact that an American congressman was present.
“I saw the arrogance in the eyes of those settlers, 21 and 22-year-olds with guns, laughing that they had detained us. The arrogance of those young IDF soldiers that my tax dollars are funding, having no respect for the fact that they were detaining Americans,” Khanna complained.
“No respect that there was an American congressperson in that bus and laughing when our translator told them, that there are Americans there and the American embassy is concerned. It is the arrogance of power, of a power that has had no accountability, total impunity, and has created a toxic culture of oppression.”
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Reports: Leftist Rep. Khanna blocked from sneaking into West Bank military zone for photo op added by Editor Two on
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