US congressman says ‘IDF is lying’ about his detention by settlers and soldiers

Armed Israeli settlers were seen blocking the convoy of a visiting US congressman, Ro Khanna, in an image provided by another member of the delegation, Cameron Kasky. Photograph: Cameron Kasky/AP View image in fullscreen Armed Israeli settlers were seen blocking the convoy of a visiting US congressman, Ro Khanna, in an image provided by another member of the delegation, Cameron Kasky. Photograph: Cameron Kasky/AP US congressman says ‘IDF is lying’ about his detention by settlers and soldiers Israeli ambassador to US accuses Ro Khanna of political stunt to distract from support for Graham Platner Ro Khanna accused the Israeli government and military of “lying” on Sunday about the US congressman’s detention by armed settlers and Israeli soldiers during a recent visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Khanna – a California Democrat – had posted video evidence on social media of Israeli settlers and soldiers blocking the path of his convoy on Wednesday in the South Hebron hills, near the village of Zanuta, where Israelis have driven Palestinians from their homes in what Amnesty International calls a government-backed “ethnic cleansing campaign”. During an interview with NBC News ’ Meet the Press on Sunday, the California Democrat was asked about the Israeli military’s claim that its soldiers “quickly dispersed” the Israeli civilians and reopened the blocked road. “The IDF is lying,” Khanna said, referring to the Israel Defense Forces. “What happened was unprecedented. They had violent settlers detain American citizens, including an American government official. You had these settlers brandishing M4 [rifles], kicking the tires of our van, laughing at us, mocking at us, videotaping us. “We were detained for about 20 minutes, fearful of our lives. Then the IDF comes, four soldiers. They tell our translator that they’re on the side of the settlers. They further detain us and block us in.” Khanna was also asked about comments by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu , who appeared before him on Meet the Press and called the armed settlers who stopped the congressman’s vehicle as a small band of “juvenile delinquents”. Netanyahu maintained they are not part of what he called the “law-abiding” community of Israeli settlers. Every Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank , including East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law. “I heard the prime minister, and he said Israel is a country of law and order,” Khanna replied. “Let me be very specific: the prime minister needs to open an investigation on these violent settlers who are connected to Yinon Levi, who has destroyed Zanuta’s village and is a known person who has killed Palestinians,” Khanna added, invoking the name of an Israeli settler who was recorded on video about a year earlier firing what appeared to be a fatal shot that killed a Palestinian activist, Awdah Hathaleen, in the same region. Despite video evidence, including images filmed by Hathaleen himself as he was shot, Levi was