US Democratic congressional nominee Lander detained by Israeli authorities in West Bank
Israeli forces said the group posed a security risk, while Lander said dozens of volunteers remained in custody after the release.
- On Wednesday, Israeli authorities detained Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander and approximately 90 volunteers in the occupied West Bank while accompanying Palestinian farmers during an olive harvest near Nahalin.
- Rabbis for Human Rights organized the volunteer effort to assist Palestinian farmers near Bethlehem in accessing olive groves they had been unable to reach for three years.
- Israeli army, police, and Border Police forces arrived two hours into the harvest and declared the area a closed military zone for 24 hours. Acting Executive Director Anton Goodman said the work had been peaceful.
- Lander was released with a warning Wednesday, stating, "The occupation is a crime under international law," and adding, "Harvesting olives isn't a crime under any law I know."
- Lander, the Democratic nominee for New York's 10th Congressional District and ally of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, faces political implications from the detention; Israel Police and the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem offered no immediate comment.
238 Articles
238 Articles
Jerusalem. Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress Brad Lander was arrested by the Israel Defense Forces when he accompanied Palestinian activists and farmers to harvest olives in the reoccupied West Bank; although he was released hours later, other volunteers, including a group of U.S. rabbis, remain in custody, while Israeli settlers continued attacks in various areas of the territory to prevent Palestinians from accessing their camps.
POLITICS: Ilhan Omar FUMING Over Detained US Candidate
Photo: Paris Malone / Shutterstock The fight over who may enter an olive grove in the West Bank is not a sideshow to the conflict; it is the conflict in miniature—where security protocols, access rules, and political symbolism collide on terrain that families depend on and states regulate. At a Glance Israeli authorities say detentions near Beitar Illit stemmed from an uncoordinated harvest adjacent to an Israeli community—coordination is requir…
Israel Accuses Brad Lander of Staging Political Provocation After Congressional Candidate Detained During Olive Harvest in Judea and Samaria
Israel Accuses Brad Lander of Staging Political Provocation After Congressional Candidate Detained During Olive Harvest in Judea and Samaria By: Russ Spencer Israel’s Foreign Ministry delivered a blistering public rebuke to former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander on Wednesday, accusing the Democratic congressional nominee of deliberately provoking a confrontation with Israeli security forces during […]
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