AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Congressman Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, says he was detained for more than one hour by armed Israeli settlers and then by Israeli soldiers, all during a visit to the occupied West Bank last week. Khanna says he was only allowed to continue proceeding after contacting the U.S. Embassy in Israel. U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, later called Khanna's trip a, quote, "stunt." And he said that Khanna went to a military controlled area without prior clearance. Israeli officials have also countered Khanna's version of this whole story. So we invited Khanna to try to clear things up. Welcome back to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, Congressman.
RO KHANNA: Thank you for having me.
CHANG: OK. So you call this visit to the occupied West Bank - in your own words - a, quote, "Palestinian-led trip." Why was going on a specifically Palestinian-led trip important to you?
KHANNA: I've been to Israel three times before. I've met with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Prime Minister Bennett, many Israeli officials. And I had been to Ramallah, where I met with President Abbas. But I wanted to see firsthand the occupation, the conditions on the ground in the occupied West Bank. And it was important to get the voices of Palestinians. And that's why I went on a trip to the West Bank that was Palestinian-led. Now, we informed the American Embassy. We informed the Israeli Embassy.
CHANG: Oh. Well, there's some pushback on that, actually. Israel's ambassador to the U.S. says you refused Israel's offer to coordinate your visit there, and that is why the Israeli military didn't immediately allow you passage. What is your response to that?
KHANNA: Well, they're correct that I didn't allow for the coordination, meaning that Israel wanted me to come meet with Israeli government officials and meet with Israeli officials. I said, no. This is a Palestinian-led trip to the West Bank, but they knew I was there. They helped escort me...
CHANG: They were fully aware...
KHANNA: Yeah.
CHANG: ...In your mind.
KHANNA: They helped escort me through the airport. I mean, they knew I was a member of Congress. They got me through very quickly - through the airport when I landed in Ben Gurion. They knew that I was going to the West Bank. They were fully aware. They just were upset that - it's unconventional that a member of Congress doesn't go to Israel and does the Israeli government or APEC itinerary. And I wanted to do a Palestinian-led tour that's...
CHANG: Well, Israeli officials weren't the only ones upset. I mean, how do you respond to people like Ambassador Huckabee, who says this whole trip was just a political stunt on your part?
KHANNA: He's a Donald Trump acolyte who obviously has supported a greater Israel and supports annexation. So, you know, he obviously doesn't agree. But the interesting thing is the deputy chief of missions, David Brownstein, is the one who helped save our lives. He - we were on the phone with him when we were on the van and when we were detained. And he's the one who called the Israeli government to finally get the police to let us go, 75 to 90 minutes out. So, obviously, the American Embassy was also aware that I was there, and I really appreciate what David Brownstein did. I admire what he did.
CHANG: Can we talk more about your account of what happened originally? So you say that you were stopped by Israeli settlers while traveling in a vehicle to a small village. Tell me why were you heading there originally?
KHANNA: Well, we wanted to see the Zanuta village. It was destroyed by Yinon Levi, who is an extremist settler - still free. And they had destroyed the village and the elementary school. And we were taking photos of that. By the way, the site we were at three, four months ago, other Congresspeople were there - Congressman Casten, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. And on this part, the person who took us there, Nadav, an Israeli citizen, from Breaking the Silence.
CHANG: A peace activist. Yes.
KHANNA: Yeah. And it was not a restricted zone. In fact, even the IDF now has admitted that they were wrong. It was not a restricted...
CHANG: Oh. OK.
KHANNA: ...Zone.
CHANG: So let me just - I'm just trying to picture what happened. So your vehicle is proceeding towards this village, Zanuta.
KHANNA: No. We were parked there.
CHANG: You were parked there. And what happened next once the car was stopped?
KHANNA: Then these extremist settlers came - two of them - one of them with a M4 gun. The other one also armed. I was told, get in the van. We all got into the van. They parked their car right in front of our van, so we couldn't exit 'cause there was a single, dirt road that went up to this - the village. And they started brandishing their gun, the M4. And they - when we went and told them - our interpreter and security guard - that we were with the Americans and the American Embassy, they kind of laughed. They said that doesn't matter. And this went on for about 20, 30 minutes before the IDF came.
CHANG: And then what happened when the IDF came, the Israeli military?
KHANNA: Well, when the IDF came, first of all, the settlers called other settler friends of theirs. So there were other cars that started blockading us in. And then there were about four female officers. We said, OK, clear this so that an American delegation can get through, and they refused to. They said, no. We are...
CHANG: Who refused?
KHANNA: ...Here - the IDF officers. And they refused to clear the path. They refused to tell the settlers to leave and let us through. And they parked their vehicle also blocking, further, our exit and said we just have to stay there, and they're not going to allow us to move.
CHANG: Well, the Israeli military statement about this whole incident denied that their soldiers were involved in blocking the road. And they say that they quickly dispersed civilians and reopened the road. What is your response to that statement?
KHANNA: They now admit that we were in a zone that we were allowed to be in. They now admit that the - their soldiers were parked there and did not disperse the settlers and that they were further blocking us. And they're now claiming that they were just waiting for orders from the police, and that's why they had detained us. But it still does not change the facts that there were illegal settlers that detained us and that the IDF sided with the settlers, as the videotape shows.
CHANG: Right. I just want to point out there is video of this incident, and there are witnesses who corroborate your account. Now, you say the goal of this three-day trip was to meet with Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. And Congressman, after all that has happened to you and your team, what is your overall takeaway from this experience?
KHANNA: That the Israelis lie, that this government that lied about genocide has no problem lying about the detention of Americans, that there is an arrogance of power and that they're totally out of touch with the fact that Americans under 50 have totally lost confidence in Israel. And they're going to be in for a rude awakening when there's a new generation of power in power in America '26 and 2028. And that the...
CHANG: Well, I was just going to ask you. I mean, what can be done to invoke that rude awakening, as you put it? Is there a policy solution that would help that people in Congress can help effectuate?
KHANNA: Well, they're going to lose all aid, and we're going to stop military sales. Massie Amendment is a vote on ending aid. It may not pass now, but it certainly will pass in the next administration. They're going to lose military sales. They're going to have an administration call them an apartheid state and call them a state that has committed genocide. They're going to lose our support in the United Nations. And we shouldn't be giving money to Israel that's using it to detain Americans.
CHANG: Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California, thank you very much for your time.
KHANNA: Thank you.
CHANG: And we will note that we did request comment from the Israel Defense Forces - that's the Israeli military - for clarification on their statement following this interview. We have not yet heard back from them. And we will also note Israel strongly denies all allegations of genocide.
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