PNN – The Zionist regime’s army has arrested a U.S. election candidate on charges of assisting with the olive harvest.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network and following attacks by Zionist settlers and military personnel against journalists and diplomats in the West Bank, the Hebrew-language news outlet i24NEWS reported that the Zionist regime’s army raided a group of approximately 80 pro-Palestinian activists who were assisting Palestinians with the olive harvest near Bethlehem. The army arrested several of them, including a candidate for the U.S. Congress from the state of New York.
This media outlet reported that on Wednesday morning, Israeli security forces detained Brad Lander—a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Congress from New York—while he was participating in the olive harvest alongside dozens of activists.
According to the report, Lander and approximately 80 American volunteers had arrived at lands in the village of Nahalin, near Bethlehem, to support Palestinian farmers.
About two hours after the harvest began; Israeli army forces arrived at the site and declared the area a “closed military zone” for 24 hours, effectively disrupting the olive harvest.
According to this media outlet, despite activists stating their intention to leave the area, army forces detained those present to verify their identities and took photographs of their identification cards and passports.
Gilad Kariv, a member of the Knesset (parliament), responded to the incident and contacted Gideon Sa’ar, the Foreign Minister, following the arrest of the activists. In a post on X, Kariv noted that American politicians and public figures were among those detained, emphasizing that their arrest was entirely groundless. He further leveled harsh criticism at Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir—labeling him “vile”—and urged the Foreign Ministry to ensure that the detainees would not be subjected to insults or humiliation by the Minister of National Security.