World · Middle East · 1 hr ago
Brad Lander and about 80 others detained during West Bank olive harvest
U.S. congressional nominee Brad Lander and about 80 others were detained while picking olives with Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank.
The group included American and Israeli rabbis and activists, and Israeli security forces took them to a police station for questioning.
They were harvesting olives near the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit, in an area the military had declared a closed military zone.
Olive harvesting matters to Palestinians culturally and economically, but many say it has become harder to reach their groves amid rising settler attacks since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct.
7, 2023.
The group hoped its presence would help farmers harvest in peace.
The detention was described as the largest mass detention of activists in the West Bank in at least a decade, according to two Israeli lawyers who work on such cases.
Israeli authorities had not said what, if anything, they accused the group of, and it was not clear whether they had been released.
Brad Lander, a US Democratic congressional nominee, was detained with about 80 volunteers while they helped Palestinian farmers harvest olives in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli forces said the area near Nahalin had been declared a closed military zone.
Lander was later released with a warning, while several dozen others remained in custody, according to him.
The group included American, Israeli, Palestinian, British and Canadian volunteers, including rabbis.
Organizers said the volunteers were harvesting on land belonging to a Palestinian family that had invited them.
- Who
- Brad Lander and about 80 volunteers, including rabbis and international activists, were detained by Israeli forces.
- What
- They were detained while helping Palestinian farmers harvest olives. Lander was released with a warning, while others remained in custody.
- When
- Wednesday, October 21, 2026.
- Where
- Near Nahalin, outside Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.
- Why
- Israeli forces said the area was a closed military zone. The sources say authorities did not clearly state what the group was accused of.
Israeli security forces
Volunteers and organizers
Reason for intervention
Israeli security forces
The forces said the area had been declared a closed military zone.
Volunteers and organizers
Organizers said the volunteers were peacefully harvesting on private land belonging to a Palestinian family that had invited them.
Conduct during the incident
Israeli security forces
The forces detained the group and took them to a police station for questioning.
Volunteers and organizers
Lander said the group was simply harvesting olives; Joshua Schoffman said everyone complied when asked to stop and there was no friction.
Lander wrote that the trip’s goals were to help protect the olive harvest and shed light on the reality of the occupation.
Israeli forces arrived near Nahalin after the volunteers had been harvesting for about two hours, declared the area a closed military zone and detained about 80 people.
Lander was released with a warning, while several dozen others remained in detention, according to him.
- Detainees
- Approximately 80 volunteers
- Location
- Near Nahalin, outside Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank
- Lander’s status
- Released with a warning
- Others’ status
- Several dozen remained in Israeli custody, according to Lander
- Volunteer nationalities
- American, Israeli, Palestinian, British and Canadian
4 sources
US congressional candidate Brad Lander freed after West Bank detention
Israeli military detain US and UK volunteers in West Bank including Democratic NY politician Brad Lander
Mamdani-backed congressional candidate says he was detained by Israeli military
80 Israelis and Americans, including NY Democrat Brad Lander, detained in West Bank
What people are saying
I’ve been released from IDF custody with a ‘warning,’ apparently because of my public profile
We were simply harvesting olives in a grove near Nahalin in the West Bank. The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know.
Just now, they told me that I’m being detained for the crime of olive harvesting
All volunteers were peacefully harvesting on the private land of a Palestinian family who had invited them. For reasons that remain unclear, the Israeli army showed up and detained approximately 80 people who were present.
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I’ve been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis & volunteers. We were simply harvesting olives in a grove near Nehalim in the West Bank. The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know.
כרגע אמרו לי שאני מעוכב באשמת מסיק זיתים. בדרך לתחנת משטרה. יצאתי יחד עם כמה עשרות ישראלים מטעם קול רבני לזכויות האדם והצטרפו גם כמה עשרות רבנים מארה״ב. אחרי כשעתיים וחצי עבודה הגיעו כוחות גדולים של משטרה, מג״ב וצבא. התבקשנו להפסיק וכולם נשמעו. לא היה חיכוך כלשהו עם מתנחלים או עם
I'm in the West Bank this week as part of the “Protect the Harvest” coalition along with @israelispeaceny, @ucpinpalestine & Protect the Harvest, which is bringing people together from around the world to help Palestinian farmers harvest olives in the face of state-sanctioned