Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, has faced renewed scrutiny following his recent visit to the West Bank, where he was briefly detained by Israeli authorities, and a subsequent interview with Drop Site News in which journalist Jeremy Scahill pressed him on questions regarding October 7 and Palestinian military actions against Israeli targets.
The exchange, which lasted approximately seven minutes according to transcripts of the interview, saw Scahill repeatedly ask Khanna whether Palestinians had the right to attack Israeli military bases on October 7. Khanna responded with general statements about non-violent resistance and invoked Mahatma Gandhi as a reference point for his position.
"Do Palestinians have a right to kill Israeli soldiers, Congressman?" Scahill asked during the interview, according to excerpts shared by Drop Site News. "The first targets that were hit on the morning of October 7 were multiple military bases. Did Palestinian forces have the right to attack those military bases?"
Khanna has positioned himself as a critic of Israeli government policy and has advocated for conditions on U.S. military aid to Israel, though he has also called for Israel's right to exist and condemned Hamas attacks.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative commentators have used Khanna's interview difficulties to argue that progressive positions on Israel-Palestine inevitably lead to untenable political territory. Critics from the right have argued that his attempts to navigate between progressive Democratic voters and traditional U.S. alliance commitments with Israel created an unsustainable position.
Some conservative voices have characterized politicians like Khanna as having "joined" a movement that demands increasingly radical positions, noting that critics on both sides of this debate found his answers unsatisfying.
"Until he embraces out-and-out extermination of the Israeli state and support of Hamas, his silly games will get him nowhere," wrote one conservative commentator in an opinion column covering the interview. "Only pure, uncut radicalism will do."
Conservative critics have also argued that the episode demonstrates what they characterize as the anti-Israel drift within segments of the Democratic Party coalition, and have used Khanna's difficulty answering Scahill's questions to argue that incremental criticism of Israel is ultimately insufficient according to progressive critics' own standards.
What the Left Is Saying
Some progressive voices have criticized Khanna's positions as insufficiently supportive of Palestinian rights. Commentator Hasan Piker, speaking on his platform, described Khanna as "movable" on Israel, suggesting this made him preferable to other Democrats such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer or Sens. Cory Booker and Haley Stevens.
"If he's movable on this issue, we can get others to be far, far more aggressive in their posture," Piker said, according to clips shared on social media. "I will take Ro Khanna over Chuck Schumer."
However, segments of the online progressive community pushed back against even this qualified support for Khanna, arguing that his positions did not go far enough in endorsing Palestinian resistance or condemning Israeli military operations.
Progressive critics have argued that mainstream Democratic politicians, including those considered sympathetic to Palestinian causes, often fail to fully acknowledge what they characterize as structural factors driving the conflict and U.S. complicity through arms sales and diplomatic support for Israel.
What the Numbers Show
Khanna represents California's 17th Congressional District, which includes portions of Silicon Valley. He was first elected in 2016 and has been re-elected three times, most recently winning his 2024 primary with approximately 72% of the vote.
The U.S. provides approximately $3.8 billion annually in military aid to Israel under a memorandum of understanding signed during the Obama administration. Congress has debated conditions on this aid periodically, though no legislation changing the current framework has passed both chambers.
Public polling on Israeli-Palestinian issues varies significantly by demographic and question wording. A 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that 41% of Democrats sympathize more with Palestinians, compared to 16% in 2014, while Republican sympathy for Israel has remained relatively stable at around 70% over the same period.
The Bottom Line
Khanna's experience illustrates the political challenges facing politicians who attempt to occupy middle ground on a highly polarized foreign policy issue. Both progressive critics and conservative opponents found his positions wanting in different directions—progressives arguing he did not go far enough, conservatives arguing that any criticism of Israel represents a drift toward radicalism.
The interview with Drop Site News comes as several House Democrats have introduced legislation calling for conditions on military aid to Israel pending compliance with certain humanitarian standards. Khanna has co-sponsored some but not all of these measures.
Political observers note that the episode may complicate potential future political ambitions for Khanna, who has been mentioned as a possible gubernatorial candidate in California. Whether this represents a lasting political liability or an opportunity to consolidate progressive support remains unclear.