New York Democrat Brad Lander released after detention in West Bank

Israeli forces have detained around 80 volunteers helping Palestinian farmers harvest olives in the occupied West Bank, including New York Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander.

According to The Guardian, the volunteers were picking olives near the Palestinian village of Nahalin, close to Bethlehem, on Wednesday when Israeli soldiers arrived.

The group included several American rabbis and former Israeli deputy attorney general Joshua Schoffman.

“I’ve been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis and volunteers,” Lander wrote on social media.

“The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know.”

Organisers from Protect the Harvest said the volunteers had been peacefully working on private Palestinian land with the owner's permission.

Israeli soldiers reportedly declared the area a closed military zone before separating the volunteers by nationality and transporting them to a police station.

Lander was later released with a warning, although other volunteers remained detained, according to organisers.

The incident comes amid growing concerns over violence against Palestinian olive farmers and international volunteers in the West Bank.