Arabic version: إطلاق سراح براد لاندر بعد احتجازه خلال قطاف الزيتون في الضفة الغربية

According to Al Jazeera, US Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander was released from Israeli military custody with a warning after he and dozens of volunteers were detained while helping Palestinian farmers harvest olives in the occupied West Bank.

Lander, a former New York City comptroller and the Democratic nominee for New York’s 10th congressional district, said he was released because of his public profile. In a post on X, he wrote that he had told Israeli forces he was “not even a congressmember yet, just a nominee”. He called for the immediate release of the other detainees.

Rabbis for Human Rights said approximately 80 volunteers were detained near Nahalin, outside Bethlehem. The group included American, Israeli, Palestinian, British and Canadian volunteers. Beck Strober of the Protect the Harvest Coalition said the volunteers had been peacefully picking olives at the invitation of a Palestinian family when the army arrived, checked identification and later declared the area a closed military zone.

Strober said those detained were first held in the field and then taken to a police station. Anton Goodman, acting director of Rabbis for Human Rights, told Reuters that volunteers who were not Israeli or Palestinian citizens were expected to be transferred to an Israeli military base. It was not clear why the area was declared a closed military zone, and Rabbis for Human Rights said the group had offered to leave voluntarily after being informed of the order.

The volunteers had travelled to support Palestinian farmers during the annual olive harvest. Strober said the family whose land was being harvested had not been able to access it since October 7, 2023 because of violence in the area. Israeli police said they arrested 10 people on Tuesday in connection with recent attacks involving settlers, Palestinians and international observers during the harvest.