US congressional candidate Brad Lander was detained by Israeli forces while helping Palestinian farmers pick olives in the occupied West Bank. He was later released with a warning.
What happened
As per Reuters, US Democratic candidate for Congress Brad Lander was detained by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday. He was with other Americans and Israelis who were picking olives alongside Palestinian farmers, rights groups said.
Lander was later released from Israeli military custody with a warning. He wrote on X: “I’ve been released from [Israeli army] custody with a ‘warning,’ apparently because of my public profile,” Lander wrote on X. “I told them I wasn’t even a congressmember yet, just a nominee.”
Lander said several dozen others, including rabbis and international volunteers, were still being held.
Who is Brad Lander?
As per Reuters, Lander is a former New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate. He is running for New York’s 10th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives in the November 3 midterm elections. He is an ally of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. He is also critical of Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza.
Where and why they were there
According to Reuters, the incident took place in Nahalin, a village south of Bethlehem. About 80 volunteers were with the Palestinians as they gathered olives, as per the Israeli organization Rabbis for Human Rights and the Jewish North American organization T’ruah. The group included American, Israeli, Palestinian, British and Canadian volunteers.
The volunteers were there as an act of solidarity with Palestinian farmers, who often face the threat of violence from Israeli settlers. The annual olive harvest is a cultural tradition and an important source of income for Palestinians.
Becca Strober of the Protect the Harvest Coalition, which helped organize the harvest, told Al Jazeera the group had been picking olives for several hours at the invitation of a Palestinian family. She said: “It was a nice, peaceful day. There was no conflict. There was no settler violence. There was no violence of any kind.”
Strober also said it was the first time the family had been able to reach its own land since October 7, 2023. She said violence in the area had made it too dangerous to return.
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How the detention happened
According to Rabbis for Human Rights and T’ruah, Israeli forces arrived about two hours after the harvest began. They told the group they were in a closed military zone and would be detained.
Anton Goodman, acting director of Rabbis for Human Rights, told Reuters the participants did not know it was a closed military zone and offered to leave. However, it is not clear why the area was declared a closed military zone.
In a video posted on X, Lander said: “We’ve been detained by the Israeli military for harvesting olives.” He also wrote: “The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know.”
What Israel says
The Israeli military said harvesting in that area, near the settlement of Beitar Illit, needs prior coordination, which did not happen. It did not say harvesting there was prohibited. Israeli police said gathering olives near the settlement fence was prohibited, according to Reuters. Police also said one foreign national was released once it became known he was a congressional candidate.
According to Al Jazeera, Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused Lander of staging a “calculated political provocation”. It said: “This was not about harvesting olives. It was about harvesting headlines.” The ministry said his team had been told in advance that the visit needed coordination with authorities, but he ignored this. It added: “Brad Lander came looking for a confrontation. Now he is pretending to be its victim.”
Who is still detained?
As per reports, police later said 72 people had been released, some on the condition that they stay away from the harvest area. Police said four foreign nationals would stay in custody until a hearing on Thursday to decide whether they would be deported.
Reactions
Mamdani wrote on X that Lander was among New Yorkers, including rabbis, detained while accompanying Palestinian farmers. He said: “Harvesting olives is not illegal. The occupation is.” Mamdani accused Israel of genocide.
Israel’s government has denied such accusations, including those made by a UN commission and rights groups.
Mamdani wrote on X that Lander was among the New Yorkers, including rabbis, who were detained while accompanying Palestinian farmers. He said: “Harvesting olives is not illegal. The occupation is.”
Mamdani also accused Israel of genocide. Israel’s government has denied these accusations, including those made by a UN commission and human rights groups.
