Israel detains a candidate for the US Congress and dozens of activists in the West Bank

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Two human rights groups said that Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank detained Brad Lander, the Democratic candidate for US Congress in next month's elections, on Wednesday, among dozens of activists who supported Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest. The Israeli organization "Rabbis for Human Rights" said in a statement that Israeli army and police forces detained about 80 volunteers, including Lander, on farms near Bethlehem after they accompanied Palestinians during the olive harvest for about two hours. The organization added in a statement that the Israeli forces informed the group that they were in a closed military zone before arresting them and taking them to a police station. Lander is a Jewish American who previously served as comptroller of New York City and previously ran for mayor of the city. Following the incident, he wrote a post on X in which he said that he was detained with a group of rabbis and volunteers.

He added, "We were simply harvesting olives in an orchard near Nahalin in the West Bank. The occupation is a crime under international law. As for harvesting olives, it is not a crime under any law that I know of." Lander is an ally of New York Mayor Zahran Mamdani, and also criticizes the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. He posted a photo of himself on a bus that showed what appeared to be a police officer and a masked soldier. Lander is currently the Democratic Party's candidate for the 10th District of New York State for membership in the US House of Representatives in the midterm elections that will be held on November 3. Anton Goodman, acting director of Rabbis for Human Rights, told Reuters that Israeli authorities later released Lander, and others remain detained at a police station inside an Israeli settlement. He added that those who do not hold Israeli or Palestinian citizenship are expected to be later transferred to an Israeli military base. The Jewish "Truah" organization concerned with human rights reported that the volunteers, including Americans and Israelis, were accompanying Palestinian farmers facing the threat of violence from Israeli settlers, in a move of solidarity.

She added that among the detainees are Israelis and Palestinians as well. The olive crop constitutes a basic pillar of Palestinian agriculture, a sector that contributes about eight percent of the gross domestic product and provides more than 60,000 job opportunities, according to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Palestinian Authority.

It is not yet clear why the site was declared a closed military zone. Goodman said they were not aware that the area had been declared a closed military zone, as the decision had only been issued that morning, but they told Israeli forces that they would respect the order and leave. An Israeli army spokesman had no comment when contacted by Reuters. There has been no comment yet from the Israeli police, the army, or the US embassy in Jerusalem in response to emailed questions. Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of the Teruah Organization, who is among those detained, told Reuters by phone that the group, which includes 33 Americans, in addition to two Canadians and Britons, was picking olives “completely peacefully” before the arrival of Israeli forces. Jacobs, a 51-year-old Conservative rabbi from Manhattan in New York City, added, "We were not clearly practicing any violence, but just picking olives with Palestinian farmers seemed to be disturbing to some." Jacobs stated that the group was placed on two buses before being taken to the police station. She said that some detainees were taken inside the police station, while others, like her, were detained on a bus outside the station.

She added that she was not aware that the police had filed any formal charges against the group, and it was not clear to them why they were being detained or whether charges would be brought against them. Attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and other civilians in the West Bank are escalating, prompting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the weekend to call on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to confront the violence. An American photojournalist working for the Washington Post was beaten by settlers while covering the olive harvest on Friday, and European diplomats and a French mayor were attacked by settlers during another Palestinian olive harvest on Saturday. Palestinians were attacked by settlers in both incidents. Yesterday, Tuesday, the Israeli police announced the arrest of ten people in connection with the violent incidents that occurred over the weekend.