JERUSALEM (VINnews) – U.S. Rep. & leftist Ro Khanna said Saturday that he and his delegation were detained by Israeli settlers and the military during a visit to Judea and Samaria and were released only after intervention by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

The California Democrat, who was on a three-day tour of Palestinian areas, described the incident as occurring Wednesday afternoon near the abandoned village of Khirbet Zanuta in the southern Judea and Samaria. Khanna said his group’s van was surrounded by settlers armed with U.S.-made M4 rifles who blocked the road, cursed at them and detained them for more than an hour.

“And these hoodlums come in with machine guns – M4, an American-made machine gun – and they detain us. They block off the road. And then they call the IDF and the IDF is on their side, not on the side of the Americans,” Khanna told Reuters, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.

An aide to Khanna, Cameron Kasky, who was part of the group, said they appealed to the U.S. Embassy for help and were eventually released after officers who appeared to be Israeli police intervened.

The IDF disputed Khanna’s account, stating that it received a report of Israeli civilians unlawfully blocking vehicles of foreign nationals and members of the press near Khirbet Zanuta. Troops were dispatched, dispersed the civilians and reopened the road, according to the military. The IDF said its soldiers did not participate in blocking the group.

Separately, a source familiar with the planning told the New York Post that Khanna declined an offer to meet October 7 survivors and freed hostages while in Israel this week.

Khanna, a progressive Democrat considering a 2028 presidential run, framed the visit as an effort to witness the impact of Israeli settlement activity and what he described as the human toll of “the occupation.”

In a social media post and subsequent statements, Khanna called for charges against the settlers and expressed disappointment in the IDF’s response. He thanked U.S. Embassy officials, including David Brownstein, for assistance in securing the group’s release.