JERUSALEM, Israel: U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, on Tuesday accused Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., of lying about consulting the American Embassy regarding his visit to the Biblical heartland of Israel.

Khanna visited the West Bank last week when he said his group was aggressively detained by Israeli settlers. Critics slammed his tour as political showmanship to advance a potential presidential campaign.

Huckabee took to X to reject the account of Khanna and his delegation, writing: «The left-wing activist who set up this stunt says ‘The embassy is involved.’ That is NOT TRUE. We did NOT know a member of Congress was coming. We would have said don’t go to restricted zone. As FACTS come out, it’s not helping the desired narrative. Not ‘held at gunpoint.»’ 

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Speaking to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, the California lawmaker said that he was detained by Israeli settlers for seventy-five minutes on Wednesday while visiting the West Bank (also known by its Biblical names Judea and Samaria). Khanna claimed, «We had informed the Israeli embassy.»

When asked about Ambassador Huckabee’s X post asserting the embassy did not know about his visit, he said «That is just false. He was misinformed.»

Khanna responded to Huckabee on X, stating «Ambassador, we have always had a relationship of mutual respect despite political differences. The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] has now clarified it was not a restricted zone and Israeli papers have confirmed this. Deputy Chief of Mission David Brownstein in our embassy did a superb job in getting us out. We are safe because of him. Please thank him. We obviously notified our Embassy and Israel’s embassy about the trip given we were in constant touch with David.»

Khanna said the «violent settlers who detained us need to be prosecuted and the IDF officers who furthered that detention need to be investigated. There were these extremist settlers who parked their car in front of our van denying us exit — there was only one road — they brandished an M4 gun and kicked our tires.»

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., speaks with a Palestinian resident of Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah, during a visit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 9, 2026. (REUTERS/Ammar Awad)

Eitan Fischberger, an Israeli Mideast analyst, posted footage on X that he said debunked Khanna’s claims that he was violently detained. Fischberger wrote:» I encourage everyone to watch footage of Ro Khanna’s supposedly violent ‘detainment,’ which was released by the crazed activists on his own team. What a glorious self-own.»

Fox News Digital sent a follow-up press query to Khanna about the video footage. He said the post by Fischberger is «false» and provided his X post with video footage. He wrote:» When the IDF arrived, they sided with the settlers & continued our detention. They made a huge mistake.» https://x.com/rokhanna/status/2075934812334915801?s=46

Khanna told Fox News that, «I told the Israeli government that I wanted to go on a Palestinian-led trip to the West Bank because I’d been [on] three trips to Israel. I had gotten Israel’s perspective, and that this trip I was going to go to the West Bank for a Palestinian-led look for three days. They knew that. And the point is that just because an American politician wants to get the side of Palestinians that does not give Israel the right to have violent settlers detain Americans with a passport that gives Israel the right to have IDF detain us. It’s not just me.»

Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told Fox News Digital Khanna’s visit «appeared to be a publicity stunt in advance of his expected run for president in 2028. Let’s be honest, this was a publicity stunt.»

The Mideast expert Diker added that «Khanna’s 72-hour visit to several PLO- PA [Palestine Liberation Organization-Palestinian Authority] villages in Judea and Samaria was carried out without any security or diplomatic coordination with Israel either of these is the embassy in Washington or the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, or security forces in a particularly dangerous visit: his history of pro-Palestinian activism, and anti-Israel activism is well known.»

Diker claimed that, «Khanna had publicly endorsed a Palestinian state following the Oct. 7 Iran-backed Palestinian Hamas massacre aligning with pro-Hamas, pro BDS [Boycott, Divestment, Sanction campaign against Israel] groups such as American Muslims for Palestine.»

Hamas’ invasion of Israel on 10/7 resulted in the terrorist organization’s mass murder of over 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans.

Khanna is also under fire from a fellow Democrat.

U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) speaks with a Palestinian resident of Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah, during a visit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 9, 2026. (REUTERS/Ammar Awad)

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-NJ., wrote on X that «What’s appalling is that Ro ignored requests to meet 10/7 survivors and hostages, or to visit sites of the 10/7 terrorist attacks. Instead, riding the anti-Zionist wave, he used the trip as a presidential campaign cameo.»

When Fox News Digital asked about Gottheimer’s criticism, including not meeting with 10/7 survivors, he said, «The purpose of this trip was a Palestinian-led tour through the West Bank.»

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He noted that «I have been to Israel three times and met with hostage families.»

In response to Gottheimer’s accusation that he used the visit as a «presidential campaign cameo,» Khanna said «I do not know what he was talking about.»

Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, posted a lengthy response on X with respect to Khanna’s allegations that he was detained and his reported defamations of the Jewish state.

Leiter wrote, «Congressman Khanna was offered to coordinate his visit with the State of Israel — this goes beyond notifying of his presence in the country. He was offered in-depth coordination of his schedule to avoid misunderstandings, and he chose to ignore that offer. He also chose not to coordinate his visit with the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.»

Leiter added «To add insult to injury – the Congressman used this instance as an opportunity to tout ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid’ libels to the press, propelling himself to the center of yet another anti-Israel media frenzy. The facts don’t lie — this was a cheap, anticipated provocation, that could, and should have been avoided….I’d be happy to host Congressman Khanna at our embassy for an in-depth conversation on his grievances regarding Israel.»

Khanna told Fox News Digital that his office contacted Ambassador Leiter’s office after he offered to meet with the him. The congressman referred to his X post to Leiter. «…I am happy to take you up on your offer to meet because I want to turn this incident into something constructive for ordinary people in Palestine,» he wrote.

When asked about Leiter accusation that Khanna is defaming the Jewish state, Khanna said, «That’s what I believe happened and that’s what the U.N. believed happened.»

A handout image allegedly shows Israeli settlers blocking the convoy of U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA), his press team says, in Khirbet Zanuta, during a visit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 8, 2026. (U.S. Congressman Ro Khanna’s Press Team/Handout via REUTERS )

Khanna said: «I want to be clear that I unequivocally reject Hamas terrorism and believe Israel has a right to exist. Hamas charter that calls for the destruction of Israel is appalling and why they are a terrorist group.» When pressed if Hamas’ invasion on 10/7 was genocidal and if the Hamas Charter is a genocidal document because it calls for the extermination of Jews and Israel, Khanna said it is «violent antisemitism,» and he repeatedly termed Hamas a terrorist organization but declined to call it a genocidal group.

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Khanna also told Fox News Digital that he believes the Islamic Republic of Iran, which finances Hamas, is a state-sponsor of terrorism.

An IDF spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that «The initial inquiry indicates that IDF soldiers were dispatched to the Khirbet Zanuta area in the Judea Brigade following reports that foreign nationals had entered an area that was believed to be a closed military zone. At the same time, an additional report was received regarding a road being blocked by Israeli civilians.»

The IDF spokesperson continued that «Upon arriving at the scene, the soldiers distanced the Israeli civilians away from the area and waited for confirmation that there was no security concern regarding the foreign nationals present at the location, and awaited confirmation that the area was not, in fact, a closed military zone. The convoy was then allowed to continue on its way. This process lasted several minutes. It should be emphasized that, throughout the incident, there was no physical confrontation or violence between those involved, and no such allegations were reported.»

According to the IDF spokesperson, «The armed individual present at the scene was an IDF soldier who was on leave. The matter is under review, and the soldier will be addressed accordingly. It should also be noted that the visit had not been coordinated with the IDF in advance. We emphasize that prior coordination of diplomatic visits is intended to prevent incidents of this nature. Such coordination is particularly important in areas where there is a risk of security-related incidents. The required conduct when interacting with diplomats will be further clarified and reinforced.»

Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter (Getty Images)

The Press Service of Israel(TPS-IL) conducted an investigation of the public row. An Israeli security official told TPS-IL that Khanna’s delegation did not coordinate its arrival in advance. «They did not coordinate the visit,» the official said. «Usually, advance notice is received.» According to the official, visits by foreign lawmakers and other prominent delegations to sensitive areas of Judea and Samaria are generally coordinated with Israeli authorities. Such coordination allows authorities to assess access restrictions, security conditions and logistical arrangements. The official said Israeli civilian security personnel arrived and blocked the delegation before troops intervened. «Settlers arrived, blocked them, the army dispersed them and that was basically the end of the incident,» the official said.

The source added that security forces sought to resolve the obstruction quickly after learning that the vehicles had been blocked.

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Diker sees the 2028 Presidential election cycle as the magnet for attracting some candidates to Israel with their alleged anti-Israel personal agendas.

Diker said «The point here is that U.S. presidential politics, on the left flank of the Democratic party, now exploits what can be called Israel- cancellation, or the inversion of legitimacy between Hamas – PLO and Israel as part of the unresolved Palestinian question as a major national issue for the American people, not the Islamic Republic of Iran and its global terror proxies, and it’s interruption of global oil shipping, kidnapping the global economy, nor is the issue the ongoing Russia, Ukraine situation, the Chinese communist parties infiltration of technology and other assets in the West or the Islamic infiltration of America.»

Un flujo constante de personas ha llegado para conseguir la mejor vista de la celebridad más grande de Australia. En la ciudad costera de Seven Mile Beach, en Tasmania, los niños se suben a los hombros de sus padres; la gente trepa sobre las rocas, algunos con binoculares en la mano. Cada vez que la estrella se mueve, un murmullo de emoción recorre la multitud.

Los coches circulan a paso de tortuga para echar un vistazo al VIP y los pasajeros sonríen encantados cuando lo consiguen. Varios equipos de televisión lo siguen de cerca.

Han venido a ver a Neil: un revoltoso elefante marino del sur, de unos 1000 kilos, que realiza su peregrinación semestral a la costa sureste de Tasmania, su lugar de nacimiento. Aunque Neil siempre ha tenido muchos seguidores, su fama parece haber alcanzado nuevas alturas este año.

Videos en los que aparece destrozando conos de tráfico o vallas de madera, chocando contra coches y cabinas telefónicas, o simplemente holgazaneando en medio de la carretera, se han difundido por todo el mundo y han atraído millones de visualizaciones. La mercancía con la imagen de Neil se ha agotado en cuestión de horas.

A Neil no parece importarle su legión de fans. El día que lo visitó The New York Times durmió durante horas junto a una valla de madera que se tambaleaba cada vez que soltaba un fuerte resoplido, lo cual ocurría con frecuencia.

Pero la fama es algo voluble. Kris Carlyon, jefe de la sección de salud de la fauna silvestre del Departamento de Recursos Naturales de Tasmania, advirtió este mes que existía el riesgo de que el público “amara a Neil hasta la muerte”.

“Hemos visto ejemplos en todo el mundo en los que se ha tenido que sacrificar a animales grandes y potencialmente peligrosos debido al comportamiento arriesgado del público”, dijo.

En 2022, las autoridades noruegas sacrificaron a una morsa de unos 600 kilos llamada Freya que llevaba semanas frente a la costa de Oslo subiéndose a los barcos y holgazaneando en los muelles.

Los comentarios de Carlyon provocaron pánico. Más de 60.000 personas han firmado una petición a favor de crear zonas de acceso restringido alrededor de la foca.

Mientras tanto, las autoridades de Tasmania han desplegado seguridad las 24 horas del día, los 7 días de la semana, en torno a Neil, y hay controladores de tráfico dedicados a gestionar los coches y las multitudes, manteniendo a la gente a una distancia mínima de 20 metros. Las autoridades multarán a cualquiera que lo acose.

Las redes sociales están repletas de videos de Neil durante sus visitas a Tasmania. (Videos: X)

‘Amarlo, pero desde lejos’

El comportamiento de Neil no es común. Los elefantes marinos del sur suelen vivir en islas subantárticas, por lo que resulta sorprendente que Neil visite Tasmania dos veces al año: una vez en octubre para mudar el pelaje y otra a mediados de año para descansar.

Jane Younger, especialista en el comportamiento de los elefantes marinos de la Universidad de Tasmania, dijo que probablemente la madre de Neil era una reproductora sin experiencia y que lo tuvo en Tasmania, en lugar de en las colonias de focas más al sur. Neil, que ahora tiene unos 5 años, ha seguido apareciendo en el mismo lugar desde entonces.

Aunque es muy querido por la comunidad, es probable que Neil se sienta solo. Younger dijo que los elefantes marinos son criaturas sociables, aunque existe la posibilidad de que Neil entre en contacto con otros elefantes marinos durante los meses que pasa en el mar.

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“Si viviera en una colonia de elefantes marinos, a esta edad ya estarían luchando y jugando entre ellos”, dijo Younger, y añadió que estarían desarrollando estas habilidades para poder luchar por los territorios en la playa cuando alcancen la madurez sexual.

“Es un depredador marino grande y salvaje, y es muy peligroso, así que podría herir fácilmente a alguien simplemente por sobresaltarse, estresarse o sentirse agobiado”, dijo Younger.

“Entiendo perfectamente por qué la gente lo ama; el punto es amarlo, pero desde lejos”.

Neil acabará pesando unos 3500 kilos, aproximadamente el tamaño de un camión pequeño.

Muchos de los fans de Neil son conscientes del peligro que supone y se quedan unos instantes para tomarse una foto y compartir unas palabras de admiración en voz baja antes de marcharse discretamente.

Bronwyn Garfield ya tenía planeado un viaje a Tasmania cuando se enteró de que su visita coincidía con la de la foca.

“Me encanta todo el revuelo que ha causado en internet y los memes que está generando. Tiene ese rollo tan milénial: vive la vida a tope, se pasa de grande, siembra el caos y, además, es adorable mientras lo hace”, dijo.

Garfield dijo que Neil era un buen símbolo para la conservación en general y que le alegraba ver que las autoridades y la gente del lugar lo protegían.

Tania Petrie, una habitante de la zona que lleva años fotografiando a Neil, se topó con él la semana pasada mientras estaba tumbado en medio de la carretera. No había autoridades cerca para ayudar a desviar el tráfico o mantener a Neil a salvo, así que Petrie intervino hasta que llegó la policía.

Ella espera que las autoridades sigan velando por la seguridad de Neil para que siga yendo a visitar muchos años más.

“Ver a Neil siendo él mismo y haciendo alguna que otra travesura me alegra un poco el día, y quizá otros sientan lo mismo”, dijo.

Como le pasa a cualquier celebridad, llega un momento en el que la atención se vuelve excesiva. Ese momento se produjo una noche de la semana pasada, cuando Neil se metió de nuevo en el mar. No se sabe cuándo volverá.

*Por Laura Chung, reportera e investigadora del Times en Sídney, y cubre Australia, Nueva Zelanda y el Pacífico.

Sen. Mitch McConnell’s disclosure of new details about the medical issues that have kept him away from the Senate has sparked fresh scrutiny on Capitol Hill, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., questioning whether his prolonged absence is «legal at this point» even as Republicans insist he’ll return when the Senate needs him.

«How is everyone pretending this is normal?» Ocasio-Cortez said to Fox News Digital. «This is not normal. At all.»

«How is it that we have sitting elected members of Congress going missing for months at a time?»

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The Kentucky senator broke his silence on his previously undisclosed medical conditions that have kept him absent from the Senate since he was first hospitalized on June 14. He posted to social media claiming that his childhood fight with polio contributed to the fall that left him «briefly unconscious» and hospitalized last month, and then was hit with a «mild case of pneumonia» in the midst of his recovery.

«Leader McConnell is tough as nails,» Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said. «This guy survived polio. For days on end, he went through therapy. People have no idea how tough he is. «

McConnell’s silence fueled online speculation about his condition, with unsubstantiated rumors ranging from cardiac arrest to claims that he had died.

«When you’re not very forthcoming with a lot of information, whether it’s personal or professional information, you do leave the conclusion up to conspiracy theorists,» Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said. «And people’s imagination is far greater than reality almost every time.»

Even after McConnell released his statement on his medical absence, including a photo of him with his wife in the hospital, rumors circulated about the senator, claiming he could be in a vegetative state.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell paused in the middle of a Wednesday press conference on Capitol Hill. McConnell stepped away from the podium and later returned to say, «I’m fine,» and answer questions. (Pool/Fox News)

The statement also did not address specifically when McConnell would return to the Senate, only stating that he would not «be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet.»

But Republican senators seemed confident that McConnell would return to the Senate floor for key votes, with Cramer even claiming GOP leaders have been in «regular» contact with him throughout his absence.

«Enough of our leadership have regular conversations with him for me to be comfortable,» Cramer said.

«I don’t have any doubt if there was a vote for a Supreme Court justice tomorrow that he’d find a way to be here for that,» Marshall said. «I think he’ll be here when we need him, and I just would never count him out. He’ll be back.»

McConnell, 84, is set to retire next year at the end of his term, but has promised he will be «finishing the job» he was elected to do until then.

«I think that Mitch McConnell has always been exactly who he is right now,» Cramer said.

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«He’s not the most transparent person in the world. He thinks strategically, tactically. He thinks about what serves the institution best — what serves his political ambitions and his political priorities.»

Ocasio-Cortez told Fox News Digital that while medical emergencies can often be inevitable, she believes there needs to be some regulations pertaining to the length of absences, as well as potentially some legislation passed to prevent lawmakers from being able to be absent for long periods.

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«Listen, things do happen,» Ocasio-Cortez said. «People get into medical incidents. If you’re in the hospital, you’re in the hospital. But I do think that there should be some sort of… there’s a line here. And I think almost everyone can agree that it’s been crossed.»