Amman, July 11 (Petra) -- US Democratic Representative Ro Khanna said he was detained by Israeli settlers during a recent visit to the West Bank, describing the trip as an opportunity to see the real impact of the Israeli occupation on human lives.

Speaking to Reuters on Thursday from a Palestinian village, Khanna said that settlers armed with M-4 rifles surrounded a van he was riding in during a tour of an area in the southern West Bank where residents face repeated settler attacks.

"We were in a village that had been destroyed by Israeli settlers. They destroyed the school, and they destroyed that village, and we were just inspecting that when these thugs came with M-4 rifles, which are US-made rifles, and they detained us, blocked the road, and then called the IDF, and the IDF sided with them, not with the Americans," said Khanna, a US House member representing California.

Cameron Kasky, an aide to Khanna who was part of the group, said they were held for more than an hour and pleaded with the US Embassy in Jerusalem for assistance. He added that a group of officers, who appeared to be police, eventually intervened, leading to their release.

//Petra// AF