A candidate in the US midterm elections was briefly detained by Israeli troops during an olive harvest in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.
Brad Lander, a Democrat seeking election to Congress in New York, said he was one of dozens of detainees, who also included a group of rabbis.
Mr Lander and others had been taking part in the harvest in a show of support for Palestinians, whose olive farming has become a symbol of tensions with Israel in the West Bank.
The Israeli military said it had intervened due to a "security risk posed by conducting an unco-ordinated harvest near an Israeli community". It did not explain what the danger might have been.
The army confirmed it had "detained those present". Mr Lander said the group was "simply harvesting olives" in a grove near Nehalim. "The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know," he said.
@bradlander detailed by Israeli police for standing with Palestinians during the olive harvest. pic.twitter.com/G5MD4T2bTO
— Rabbis for Human Rights (@rabbis4HR) October 21, 2026
He later said the Israeli military had released him with a warning while others remained in custody. "To be clear: Palestinians face far worse consequences every day," he added.
Israel's Foreign Ministry later called Mr Lander's visit a stunt and a "calculated political provocation".
Mr Lander is the Democratic nominee in New York's 10th congressional district. Forecasters say he is likely to win election to the House of Representatives in the midterms on November 3.
A former city comptroller and self-described “liberal Zionist”, he defeated Representative Dan Goldman in the Democratic primary in June after turning their contest into a referendum on Israel.
Mr Lander had criticised Mr Goldman for opposing legislation to block arms sales to Israel and for refusing to call its military campaign in Gaza a genocide.
The incident comes days after a Washington Post journalist was attacked by masked Israeli settlers while accompanying Palestinian villagers harvesting olives. Violence involving Israeli settlers has sharply escalated in the occupied territory.
At least two Palestinians have been killed by settlers since farmers started heading to their trees in late September. The olive harvest is not only crucial to the economy but also seen as a symbol of Palestinians' connection to the land.