US Democratic congressional candidate Lander among those detained by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank
Israeli forces on Wednesday detained Democratic US congressional nominee Brad Lander, an ally of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, along with dozens of activists and Palestinian farmers, as they took part in the olive harvest in the occupied West Bank, an activist said. Palestinian activist Amira Muslim told Anadolu that the Israeli forces held 45 foreign activists, including Lander, as well as 25 Israeli activists, while they were harvesting olives in the town of Husan, west of Bethlehem. She said the Israeli authorities stopped the activists, placed them on buses and transferred them to a nearby settlement. Their final destination and whereabouts remained unclear. The group included activists from "T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights," a Jewish organization based in New York City, Muslim added. No further information was immediately available on the number of Palestinian farmers detained or whether Israeli forces had released any of those held. Lander confirmed his detention in a post on US social media platform X, saying he was detained “along with a group of rabbis & volunteers.” "We were simply harvesting olives in a grove near Nehalim in the West Bank," he added. Noting that the occupation constitutes a crime according to international law, he added: “Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know.” Attacks by Israeli occupiers against Palestinians and their land in the West Bank intensify during the olive harvest season. The attacks include assaulting farmers, preventing them from accessing their land, stealing crops and damaging trees. Official Palestinian figures indicate that around 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, across 194 settlements and approximately 400 outposts.
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