You may have heard some recent news about Congressman Ro Khanna’s trip to Israel.
For those who haven’t, early Thursday Israel time, Khanna was touring the West Bank with a small group led by an Israeli guide who heads Breaking the Silence, an activist organization opposed to Israeli military rule in the territory.
During the tour, the group’s car was stopped by a handful of armed Israelis. That was because Khanna was entering an area that many believed to be a closed military zone. Reports have since emerged that the designation had expired, but the Israelis on the ground seemed to have believed it was still in place.
I don’t know the specifics of this particular case, but to be clear about my own position: Sometimes, the IDF uses these closures to displace illegally built Palestinian settlements—settlements that rarely get building approval from the Israeli military authorities. When that happens, I’m on the side of the Palestinians affected. But there are other times, other cases, when the area genuinely isn’t safe to occupy, or when the squatters are recent arrivals, or when the IDF needs to designate an area a military training ground.
