U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna says he was detained by armed Israeli settlers and the Israeli military during a visit to the West Bank—but the California Democrat’s decision to insert himself into one of the world’s most volatile territorial disputes raises an obvious question: What exactly was he doing there in the first place?

Khanna was not conducting official negotiations, commanding a diplomatic mission or representing the United States in peace talks. He was touring Palestinian communities with journalists and activists while openly criticizing Israel, then quickly used the confrontation in a fundraising email connected to his growing national political ambitions.

According to Khanna’s office, the incident occurred Wednesday near Khirbet Zanuta, a Palestinian village whose residents had left following attacks by settlers. Masked, armed men reportedly blocked the delegation’s vehicle and refused to let it leave.

Khanna said Israeli soldiers later arrived, spoke cordially with the settlers and also prevented his party from departing. He said the group was released only after calls were made to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and Israeli police.

The Israel Defense Forces disputed that account.

The military said Israeli civilians had blocked foreign visitors and members of the media, but insisted that its troops arrived, dispersed the settlers and reopened the road.

“The IDF soldiers operating in the area did not take part in blocking the road,” the military said.

Khanna nevertheless presented the episode as evidence of the treatment Palestinians face and warned that, if it could happen to a member of Congress, ordinary Palestinians were even more vulnerable.

That message appeared shortly afterward in a fundraising appeal, an unusually convenient political use of what Khanna described as a frightening international confrontation.

The congressman is reportedly considering a presidential campaign in 2028 and has become increasingly outspoken against the Israeli government. His West Bank excursion therefore looked less like necessary congressional business and more like a carefully chosen political appearance in a region where practically any confrontation can produce headlines.

The West Bank is governed through a complicated patchwork of Israeli military control, Palestinian administration, disputed land claims and expanding Israeli settlements. Israel considers the territory disputed and says its final status must be resolved through negotiations. Much of the international community considers the settlements illegal.

Violence involving settlers and Palestinians has increased in recent years, and attacks by extremists are a legitimate concern. Israeli authorities said Saturday that four suspects had been detained in a separate attack on foreign journalists near Sinjil.

None of that, however, explains why an American congressman apparently believed wandering into an abandoned West Bank village surrounded by armed settlers was an essential part of his job.

Members of Congress have every right to travel, observe foreign conflicts and criticize allied governments. But they should not be surprised when entering a heavily disputed and dangerous area produces a dangerous confrontation—particularly when the trip appears designed as much for political theater as for fact-finding.

Khanna may have been improperly obstructed. The settlers may have acted unlawfully. The Israeli military’s version deserves scrutiny.

But this was not a congressman accidentally caught in trouble while carrying out ordinary government business. He deliberately entered a combustible foreign dispute, surrounded himself with cameras and then turned the resulting incident into a political fundraising message.

In that sense, Khanna found exactly what such a trip was likely to produce: confrontation, publicity and another reason to ask supporters for money.