Israel Detains U.S. Democratic Congressional Candidate Brad Lander in West Bank, Group Says
Rabbis for Human Rights said Lander was detained along with 80 of its members and U.S. activists in a village near Bethlehem who helped Palestinian farmers reach lands out of their reach since Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack
Israeli authorities detained Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander in the West Bank on Wednesday along with dozens of activists who accompanied Palestinian farmers, an Israeli rights group said.
Lander told Haaretz while he was being detained, "Occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives is not a crime under any law I know."
Rabbis for Human Rights said Lander was detained in a village near Bethlehem along with 80 of its members and U.S. activists who helped Palestinian farmers reach lands out of their reach since Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack.
The volunteers arrived early Wednesday and spent about two hours harvesting olives before Israeli forces arrived and declared the area a closed military zone for 24 hours, the group said. In a statement, it added that members of the group agreed to leave the area but that soldiers detained everyone present for identification and photographed their identity cards and passports. The group said there had been no way to know about the closure order in advance.
Brad Lander being detained by Israeli authorities in the West Bank on Wednesday
Israeli MK Gilad Kariv of the Democrats party condemned the authorities' actions, warning Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar that some of those arrested were "American politicians and public figures."
Kariv remarked sarcastically that the Foreign Ministry should try to stop National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from filming the detainees on the floor, referencing the minister's actions after the arrest of Gaza flotilla activists earlier this year.
Kariv called on the IDF chief of staff and the head of its Central Command to stop using closed military zone orders to disrupt the Palestinian olive harvest.
"The IDF is the Israel Defense Forces, not the forces defending extremist settlers," he said, accusing the military of harming Palestinian farmers' rights and those of Israeli and Jewish activists "who refuse to turn a blind eye."
Brad Lander, as he was detained by Israeli authorities in the West Bank on Wednesday
Lander, a progressive Democrat and former New York City Comptroller who is running for Congress this year, arrived in the West Bank earlier this week to take part in the protection of Palestinian farmers facing violence from Jewish settlers.
Known as protective presence, it involves Israeli and foreign activists who go to the West Bank and attempt to guard Palestinians, their livestock and their land in the face of violent attacks by Jewish settlers. Those attacks have increased substantially in recent years, and over the past few months the number of activists attacked has also surged.
In late August, Israeli authorities detained a British activist after armed settlers allegedly assaulted him and held him against his will. A court later ordered his deportation from Israel. A similar incident took place earlier this month in Janata, south of Bethlehem, when settlers wounded four activists.
Another trend has emerged as of late, in which Israeli authorities target the activists themselves. Last month, Haaretz reported that two people who have been active in protective presence in the West Bank have had their aliyah approval revoked.