Mike Huckabee says Ro Khanna’s West Bank detention was a staged 'stunt'

WASHINGTON, DC: US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee publicly disputed Rep Ro Khanna's account of being detained in the West Bank, calling the incident a "stunt" and saying the California Democrat entered a restricted Israeli military zone without coordinating with the US Embassy or Israeli authorities in advance.

Huckabee made the remarks Tuesday, July 14, on NewsNation's ‘On Balance,’ pushing back on Khanna's description of a harrowing encounter with armed settlers and Israeli soldiers near Khirbet Zanuta, an abandoned Palestinian village in the southern West Bank, on July 8.

Mike Huckabee says embassy was never notified of the trip

According to Huckabee, standard protocol requires members of Congress visiting Israel and the West Bank to coordinate with the embassy ahead of time, something he said Khanna's team failed to do.

"He did not let us know he was coming," Huckabee said.

"Most of the time, a member of Congress, if they're coming to the country, they coordinate with us."

The ambassador said Khanna had traveled at the invitation of a pro-Palestinian activist into Area C, Israeli-controlled territory that includes a civilian military zone requiring prior clearance to enter.

He drew a direct comparison to attempting to walk into a US military installation without authorization. "It's like I can't go to a US air base, just walk in and say, 'Hey, I'd like to look around,'" Huckabee said. "The same thing."

Huckabee said the armed individuals who stopped Khanna's van were members of a civilian patrol who questioned the group before recognizing the accompanying activist. He said Khanna never identified himself as a congressman until later in the encounter.

"The whole thing was a stunt, and it was unfortunate," Huckabee said.

Ro Khanna says 'IDF is lying,' calls for settler arrests

Khanna has firmly rejected the ambassador's account.

He said his van was stopped by armed settlers and Israeli soldiers near Khirbet Zanuta for more than an hour on July 8 and was only released after his team contacted the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

In a subsequent appearance on NBC News' 'Meet the Press', Khanna said flatly that "the IDF is lying" about the circumstances of the encounter and called for the arrest of the settlers who he said surrounded his vehicle.

Khanna has been one of Congress's most vocal critics of Israeli military actions in Gaza. He has used the incident to reiterate calls for accountability regarding settler activity in the West Bank. He shared his account of the encounter on X shortly after it happened, and the post gained significant attention online.

The disagreement between Huckabee and Khanna shows the broader tensions between the Trump administration's stance on Israel and Democratic lawmakers.

These lawmakers have advocated for a tougher approach to settlement activity and military conduct in the West Bank. The State Department has not released an official statement on the incident.