Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) recently visited the West Bank, and local residents blocked the road. The Israel Defense Forces personnel arrived at the scene and, upon confirmation that the area was not restricted, they dispersed the Israeli civilians. The episode resulted in a brief interruption of the trip until the security personnel could confirm that Khanna’s destination was unrestricted. The media coverage of the event, from national media to local networks, was subpar. Journalists took the congressman’s account for granted without any investigation. One example is Ashley Carter, an anchor at KNIN Fox 9, a local Idaho television station, who covered the story without bothering to investigate the context.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), 2019. Credit: April Brady/Project on Middle East Democracy
On July 11, 2026, Khanna traveled to the West Bank and decided to visit Khirbet Zanuta. During the trip, Khanna entered an area which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed to CAMERA “was believed to be a closed military zone.” Civilian Israelis, likely suspecting intrusion in a region rife with Palestinian violence, blocked the road. The group included an armed Israeli. An IDF unit was dispatched to the scene. The IDF spokesperson told CAMERA:
Upon arriving at the scene, the soldiers distanced the Israeli civilians away from the area and waited for confirmation that there was no security concern regarding the foreign nationals present at the location, and awaited confirmation that the area was not, in fact, a closed military zone. The convoy was then allowed to continue on its way. This process lasted several minutes.
It should be emphasized that, throughout the incident, there was no physical confrontation or violence between those involved, and no such allegations were reported.
The armed individual present at the scene was an IDF soldier who was on leave. The matter is under review, and the soldier will be addressed accordingly.
Khanna accused the IDF of “lying” regarding previous statements made about the incident. He has also claimed that there were several Israelis carrying U.S.-made M4 rifles, but the IDF statement mentions only one.
Congressional delegations routinely travel around the world. However, there is a process for American officials to visit restricted areas in allied and partnered countries. Official visits include coordinating within Congress and with the Department of State. The State, through its embassy in the country, relays and coordinates with the host government, which provides security for the delegation, arranges meetings upon request, and provides accommodations.
Khanna did not go through the proper channels and failed to notify the relevant U.S. or Israeli authorities, resulting in confusion on the ground.
CAMERA’s Jennifer Kouzi and Aaron Goren detailed how the Israeli Defense Forces acted within protocol at the time. Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Leiter, tweeted on July 13, 2026, that Khanna had refused to coordinate his trip with the government. The Israeli security forces are easily excused for interrupting an unknown person’s trip in the middle of a hotspot to confirm that visiting the area is permissible for everyone, especially when they have no way of knowing that he is an American congressman.
On July 14, 2026, hours before KNIN Fox 9 aired the live program, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Michael Huckabee tweeted that the embassy did not know about the visit at all.
The left-wing activist who set up this stunt says “The embassy is involved.” That is NOT TRUE. We did NOT know a member of Congress was coming. We would have said don’t go to restricted zone. As FACTS come out, it’s not helping the desired narrative. Not “held at gunpoint.” https://t.co/FBSsbInkC8
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) July 14, 2026
KNIN Fox 9 ran its segment hours later. The introduction was quite interesting:
And Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank is escalating. Two new incidents reported, including a U.S. congressman and a CNN crew. Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California says his vehicle was blockaded by Israeli settlers during a visit last week. The delegation was visiting an elementary school that was destroyed in a settler attack when their van was surrounded by a group of them.
By opening the segment with “Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank is escalating,” Carter provided a context to make the viewers sympathetic to Khanna. The segment continued with Khanna’s statement and then turned to further highlighting settler violence. Furthermore, calling the group a “delegation” misidentified it as an official visit.
Fox’s coverage included no comments from the Israeli government, including the IDF, nor the U.S. government. It also did not cite the public statements made by Huckabee and Leiter.
The segment’s ending was as questionable as the opening:
Settler violence increased in the West Bank following the October 7th terror attacks. This year alone, the U.N. documenting over 1,000 Palestinians killed, including over 200 kids.
This is flatly false—the right number is 77. Neither the United Nations nor even Palestinian officials have been able to manufacture such a number for the West Bank.
The figure of 1,000 Palestinians killed likely instead comes from Hamas claims of casualties in Gaza, not the West Bank. Even then, many, if not the vast majority of the dead in Gaza, are terrorist operatives.
KNIN Fox 9 had the opportunity to provide both sides of the story, including official U.S. and Israeli government statements. It also should have provided the correct statistic for West Bank clashes, including dead Israelis.