US Congressional Candidate Brad Lander Detained by Israeli Forces in West Bank

US Congressional Candidate Brad Lander Detained by Israeli Forces in West Bank

U.S. Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander was detained on Wednesday by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, along with about 80 American and Israeli rabbis and activists who had been helping Palestinian farmers harvest olives near the village of Nahalin, close to the Beitar Illit settlement. Two Israeli lawyers told NPR it is the largest mass detention of activists in the West Bank in at least a decade.

Lander, a Jewish American, former New York City comptroller and the Democratic nominee for New York's 10th congressional district in the November 3 midterm elections, filmed a video from the detention bus saying: "We've been detained by the Israeli military for harvesting olives, and let's be clear: occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives is not a crime under any law."

The group, including rabbis from the U.S. organization T'ruah and the Israeli group Rabbis for Human Rights, had harvested for about two hours before Israeli forces declared the area a closed military zone and detained them. Israel's military and police did not immediately comment, nor did the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Rights groups later said Lander had been released while others were held at a police station in an Israeli settlement.

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