Brad Lander Detained by IDF Near Beitar Illit During Olive Harvest

In a statement, the IDF said the group arrived to conduct “an uncoordinated olive harvest in an area near Beitar Illit,” where harvesting requires a request to authorities before the season begins. The military said soldiers, Border Police and Judea and Samaria District Police detained those present “due to the security risk posed by conducting an uncoordinated harvest near an Israeli community.” The landowner was given contact information to arrange a harvest at a later date.

The IDF noted that about 100 coordinated harvests have already taken place across Judea and Samaria this season, producing many dozens of tons of olives with no unusual incidents.

Lander posted a photo from the bus after his detention, writing that the occupation “is a crime under international law” and that harvesting olives is not. Activists said security forces declared the area a closed military zone about two hours after the harvest began. Lander later wrote that he had been released with a “warning,” apparently because of his public profile. Kan reported he was freed once it became known he was a congressional candidate.

Lander said the remaining participants were released later in the day, and that Israelis in the group received a multiweek ban preventing them from joining the harvest.

The Foreign Ministry called the episode an “outrageous stunt,” according to the New York Daily News. Lander denied the ministry’s claim that his team had contacted Israeli officials before the trip.

The Times of Israel reported that a Civil Administration map did not mark the plot as requiring coordination. The IDF responded that the area was unmarked because Palestinian farmers had never previously requested to harvest that section.

Lander, who is Jewish and is backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, defeated Rep. Dan Goldman in this year’s Democratic primary. Ahead of the trip he described the harvest as taking place “in the face of state-sanctioned settler terrorism.” Last month he drew criticism for accusing Israel of genocide at a Yom Kippur event in Brooklyn. Mamdani again accused Israel of genocide in a statement responding to Wednesday’s detention.

Lander said he expects to return to New York on Saturday and plans to vote early.