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Rep. Ro Khanna is Blocked by Israeli Settlers in the West Bank
On Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Khanna, the congressman from Silicon Valley who is exploring a 2028 presidential run, was visiting the ruins of Khirbet Zanuta, a tiny Palestinian Bedouin village in the southern West Bank that was abandoned after escalating attacks from settlers and then demolished.
Suddenly, a car of men holding guns pulled up and blocked the narrow road out of the village. The men began taunting the congressman and his team, swearing at them in Hebrew and Arabic and kicking the tires of their minibus, according to accounts, photographs and video footage from Mr. Khanna, an aide and his security guard. A photographer for The New York Times traveling in a different vehicle also saw the interaction. Soon, a Jeep with more men arrived.
When two cars from the Israeli military pulled up, Mr. Khanna assumed the soldiers were there to help him pass. Instead, the soldiers smoked cigarettes, chatted with the men and after the settlers left, moved a car to block the road, he recounted.
Suddenly, a car of men holding guns pulled up and blocked the narrow road out of the village. The men began taunting the congressman and his team, swearing at them in Hebrew and Arabic and kicking the tires of their minibus, according to accounts, photographs and video footage from Mr. Khanna, an aide and his security guard. A photographer for The New York Times traveling in a different vehicle also saw the interaction. Soon, a Jeep with more men arrived.
When two cars from the Israeli military pulled up, Mr. Khanna assumed the soldiers were there to help him pass. Instead, the soldiers smoked cigarettes, chatted with the men and after the settlers left, moved a car to block the road, he recounted.
SNIP
What he saw in the West Bank, Mr. Khanna said, convinced him that the region’s problems won’t be solved just by replacing the Israeli leadership.
“One of the things it’s made me realize is how hard a two-state solution is going be in practice, that it’s going require the removal of a lot of violent settlers,” he said. “The on-the-ground reality is so much more brutal and hard and difficult.”
On his trip, Mr. Khanna visited a number of Palestinian towns and met with families and local business owners. The mayors of Bethlehem, Beit Shair and Beit Jala described the restrictions on their freedom of movement and access to water. They told Mr. Khanna that they had never met a member of Congress, according to video recorded by his team, and would welcome his colleagues.
In the southern West Bank village of Umm al-Khair, he met with the family of Awdah Hathaleen, a well-known Palestinian activist whose work was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” and who was killed by an Israel settler. On his final day, he visited a school where a 14-year-old was gunned down in broad daylight by a settler and met with Palestinian Americans, who described stories of being beaten and threatened.
“One of the things it’s made me realize is how hard a two-state solution is going be in practice, that it’s going require the removal of a lot of violent settlers,” he said. “The on-the-ground reality is so much more brutal and hard and difficult.”
On his trip, Mr. Khanna visited a number of Palestinian towns and met with families and local business owners. The mayors of Bethlehem, Beit Shair and Beit Jala described the restrictions on their freedom of movement and access to water. They told Mr. Khanna that they had never met a member of Congress, according to video recorded by his team, and would welcome his colleagues.
In the southern West Bank village of Umm al-Khair, he met with the family of Awdah Hathaleen, a well-known Palestinian activist whose work was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” and who was killed by an Israel settler. On his final day, he visited a school where a 14-year-old was gunned down in broad daylight by a settler and met with Palestinian Americans, who described stories of being beaten and threatened.
Read whole article here gift link NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/us/politics/ro-khanna-west-bank.html?unlocked_article_code=1.w1A.uUX3.Z5ATvv455Hsw&smid=nytcore-ios-share]
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