Brad Lander, Democratic Party candidate in the midterm elections scheduled in the United States for next November 3, has reported this Wednesday that he was detained by Israeli security forces while participating in an olive harvest in the West Bank.
"I have been detained by the Israel Defense Forces along with a group of rabbis and volunteers. We were simply picking olives in an olive grove near Nehalim, in the West Bank," the candidate himself indicated initially in a message disseminated through social media.
In that same message, Lander emphasized that "the occupation is a crime under International Law." "Picking olives is not a crime under any law that I know of," he highlighted, linking his arrest to the situation in the Palestinian territories.
Hours later, the Democratic politician also communicated on his social media that he had been released, although with "a 'warning,' apparently due to my public notoriety."
"I told them that I was not even a congressman yet, just a candidate," he recounted, while warning that "several dozen" rabbis and volunteers with whom he was in the olive grove at the time of the arrests remain in custody.
Lander insisted that they were all arrested solely for participating in the olive harvest and demanded their release "immediately," emphasizing that, in his opinion, it is the Palestinians who suffer from this type of episode on a daily basis.
"Let it be clear: Palestinians face much worse consequences every day. These detentions by the IDF are yet another attempt to undermine the right of Palestinians to harvest their olive groves, travel on their roads, and live in their homes," he denounced.
The Israeli Police defended its actions in a message on social media, where it stated that the olive picking "was carried out without prior coordination."
"The forces were forced to detain all those involved and transfer them to a police station. Upon their arrival, it was decided to release one of the foreigners upon confirming that he was a candidate for the United States Congress," the body added.
The arrest occurred when Lander was accompanied by dozens of activists operating in the area as part of campaigns in favor of Human Rights. It is estimated that around 80 volunteers from the organization Rabbis for Human Rights were detained during the operation.
The organization itself has stated in a statement that Israeli authorities informed them that the reason for the detention was that they were "inside a closed military zone."
Israel accuses Lander of seeking a "calculated provocation"
Hours after the incident, the Israeli Government reacted by assuring that what happened "had nothing to do with olive picking" and linked it to an attempt to "grab headlines," describing Lander's presence as a "reckless political spectacle."
"Brad Lander's latest maneuver is nothing more than a calculated political provocation. Lander traveled to a foreign country, deliberately entered a restricted security zone, and participated in an unauthorized activity without the necessary coordination," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced on social media.
The diplomatic department reproached the Democrat that, before his arrival in Israel, "he was explicitly informed that proper coordination with the relevant authorities was necessary," without specifying which, to carry out the activity, and assured that Lander "chose to ignore those instructions."
In this line, the Ministry has supported the response of Israeli forces in "a moment of great tension regarding security." "Brad Lander came seeking a confrontation. Now he pretends to be its victim," the Ministry concluded.