Israeli safety forces, including navy and police, declared a closed navy zone around a olive grove and escorted activists and rabbis away from the space before detaining them close to the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit in the occupied West Bank.

Ruth Sherlock/NPR

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NAHALIN, West Bank — U.S. Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander was detained alongside with about 80 American and Israeli rabbis and activists detained by Israeli safety forces as they helped Palestinians harvest olives from their grove shut to a settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Lander, the former New York City comptroller, later said on social media he has been launched from Israeli navy custody — he presumed because of his “public profile” — but several dozen others are still detained.

This is the largest mass detention of activists in the occupied West Bank in at least a decade, two Israeli attorneys who work on associated circumstances instructed NPR. Rabbi Arik Ascherman, a longtime Israeli human rights proponent, called the detentions “unprecedented.” This comes amid a spike in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian farmers in the West Bank.

The Israeli navy said in a assertion that harvesting in the space requires the farmers to submit requests to the authorities before the olive harvest season in order to coordinate “security of the area and maintain public order.” The navy said Palestinians in this space did not submit a request, so troopers and police arrived and detained these current.

“Regarding reports of the detention of a congressional candidate, we note that he was released once the matter was brought to our attention,” the Israeli navy instructed NPR.

“We’ve been detained by the Israeli military for harvesting olives, and let’s be clear: Occupation is a crime under international law,” Lander said in a video he filmed from the bus the group was loaded onto to be taken to a police station. “Harvesting olives is not a crime under any law.”

American rabbis from the U.S. group T’ruah, the Israeli group Rabbis for Human Rights and other activists had joined Palestinian households in choosing olives at their grove in Nahalin, shut to the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit. They said they were collaborating in what they called Protect the Harvest, bringing an worldwide coalition of volunteers collectively to accompany Palestinian harvesters at a time when they and their farms and other property have come under attack from Israeli settlers in the space.

Activists and rabbis from the United States and Israel assist Palestinians harvest olives in Nahalin, close to the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit, in the occupied West Bank.

Ruth Sherlock/NPR

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Olive harvesting is an necessary time for Palestinians both culturally and economically. But it has become more and more laborious for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to entry their fields. Several Palestinians there instructed NPR they have been unable to harvest their olive timber there since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, saying it had become too harmful in the face of rising settler attacks in the occupied West Bank.

The detentions come less than a week after American photojournalist Heidi Levine, working for The Washington Post was assaulted by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, the newest journalist to come under attack during the Palestinian olive harvest season. Democratic congressman Ro Khanna of California was also briefly detained by Israeli forces while visiting the West Bank in July.

On Wednesday, the group of Americans and Israelis joined the Palestinian farmers hoping their presence would assist them harvest in peace. T’ruah said the motion was called Protect the Harvest.

After roughly two hours, drones started circling overhead and Israeli safety forces arrived and declared the space a closed navy zone. They detained the Israeli and American activists and took them to the police station for questioning. The rabbinical human rights group T’ruah said a Palestinian household was also detained.

“Let us be clear about what happened here: Rather than protecting Palestinian farmers and ensuring their right to work their own land, the Israeli military forcibly removed those who came to provide a protective presence,” T’ruah CEO Rabbi Jill Jacobs said in a assertion. “This is an outrageous abuse of power, and part of a systematic, state-backed campaign of ethnic cleansing aimed at driving Palestinians from their land,” she said.

Israeli authorities have rejected accusations of ethnic cleaning.

This is a creating information story, which may be up to date.

Daniel Estrin reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, where Itay Stern also contributed reporting.