New York House candidate Brad Lander briefly detained by Israeli military with group visiting West Bank

New York House candidate Brad Lander was detained for a short period by the Israeli military while visiting a Palestinian village in the West Bank, he said.Lander has made a name for himself during his campaign as a vocal Jewish voice critical of Israel, and he spent a chunk of the home stretch of his campaign traveling to the West Bank to hear Palestinians’ experiences with violence from Israeli settlers. After releasing some videos interviewing locals, Lander revealed in a post on X that he had been detained by the Israeli military, along with a group of volunteers, but then released shortly after.“I’ve been released from IDF custody with a ‘warning,’ apparently because of my public profile (I told them I wasn’t even a congressmember yet, just a nominee),” he said. “But several dozen rabbis & participants harvesting olives with me are still in detention. For harvesting olives. They should all be released immediately.” The arrest appeared to have happened on the third day of his visit. On the second day, he released his interview with Amira Musallam of the Unarmed Civilian Protection in Palestine, detailing an alleged assault by settlers on a mother and her two children by Israeli settlers.“These are the kinds of assaults that Palestinians in the West Bank are subject to constantly. We’ll keep shining a spotlight on what’s happening here – in the pursuit of ending the scourge of state-sanctioned settler terrorism,” Lander said.Lander and his group’s arrest appeared to occur under little duress, with no force being used and no one resisting. Lander was filmed upon learning of the detention, telling the camera that all non-Israeli citizens who were taking part in the olive harvest were told to board a bus that would take them to a police station. After boarding with no incident, keeping their phones and belongings, they were taken to a police station in the Israeli settlement of Beitar.OPINION | BRAD LANDER HIJACKED YOM KIPPUR TO CHEAPEN THE WORD ‘GENOCIDE’His arrest will likely cause outrage among many Democrats, who have become increasingly vocal in their criticism of Israel. Lander has been a key ally of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and was endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) just before his arrest.Settler violence in the West Bank has surged after the region’s descent into chaos following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack. Settlers have become more brazen in their attacks on Palestinians, often under police or Israeli military protection, drawing condemnation from the Trump administration, even from heavily pro-Israeli figures such as U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.