Once detained by armed settlers, US House of Representatives member says the condition of the West Bank is inhumane

Illustration of a checkpoint in the West Bank. US House of Representatives member Ro Khanna criticized the condition of Palestinians after being detained by armed Israeli settlers. Illustration by AI.

JAKARTA - US House of Representatives member Ro Khanna has criticized the condition of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank after being detained by armed Israeli settlers. He called what he witnessed in the area "very inhumane".

According to Anadolu Agency, quoted on Sunday, July 12, Israeli soldiers helped armed settlers block Khanna's vehicle before he was detained.

In a video uploaded to the X platform on Saturday, Khanna said the incident was scary. However, the experience that shook him the most was the story of Palestinian families and American citizens of Palestinian descent that he met.

"I'm very touched emotionally as a human being, not as a politician," Khanna said.

He met a father who lost his 14-year-old son. According to Khanna, the child of US citizenship was killed by the actions of the Israeli army.

The father cried when he told his son's room was still left as it was because he was not able to change anything.

Khanna also highlighted the inequality of access to water. A number of Palestinian families are said to not have enough water to wash clothes or flush toilets. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers near them get several times more supplies.

At a school, a headmaster told of the death of a student from a shooting. He admitted that he did not know about the investigation and was never contacted by the police or the Israeli army.

Traders in Hebron also complained about the treatment of settlers living above their businesses. According to Khanna, urine, rotten vegetables, and acid liquids were repeatedly thrown at the store.

Khanna also highlighted the different movement systems for Palestinians and Israeli settlers, including the use of different license plates and checkpoints.

An American of Palestinian descent told Khanna that officers at a checkpoint beat him and took his money because he couldn't speak Hebrew. The man had lived outside of Palestine for so long that he had trouble communicating with the officers.

Khanna compared the system to racial segregation in the Jim Crow era in the southern United States. Jim Crow refers to rules that once separated people based on race and limited the rights of black people.

"It doesn't really matter what your ideology is. What is happening in the West Bank is really inhumane. No human being would tolerate it," he said.

Khanna promised to use his position to speak out about the experiences of Palestinians and American citizens of Palestinian descent who have difficulty getting political and media attention.

"We have to defend human dignity. We have to tell what happened to the Palestinians and the Palestinian-American people in the West Bank," he said.

He said he would continue to discuss the issue in the coming days and weeks.