Ro Khanna Rebuts 1-Hour West Bank Detention Claims as Israeli Allies Refuse Apology
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Jul 11
Ro Khanna Rebuts 1-Hour West Bank Detention Claims as Israeli Allies Refuse Apology
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Jul 11
Summary
Khanna said armed Israeli settlers and then soldiers blocked his van for more than an hour in the West Bank, and that the standoff ended only after he contacted the US embassy.
NBC and CBS interviews on Sunday turned the incident into a political fight: Khanna accused the Israeli military of lying, while Israel’s ambassador to Washington blamed him for not coordinating the trip.
Pro-Israel politicians and advocates, including Rep. Greg Murphy and former envoy David Friedman, cast the detention as a publicity stunt, though Khanna said he had informed Israeli authorities and demanded arrests.
The dispute lands amid a broader pattern of settler attacks on Americans in the West Bank, including the killings of 20-year-old Sayfollah Musallet and Chicago father Khamis Ayyad, with no charges filed.
Israel has still ruled out apologizing or holding settlers accountable, even as it has received more than $21 billion in US military aid over the past two years.