Congressional candidate Brad Lander says he was detained by Israeli military in West Bank

New York congressional candidate Brad Lander (D) said Wednesday he was detained by the Israeli military in the West Bank while “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,” Lander wrote in a post on the social platform X .

In a post on Monday , Lander said he was in the West Bank with the Protect the Harvest coalition, which he said was bringing people together from around the world to help Palestinian farmers harvest olives.

He posted an update the next day with a video attachment of him speaking with Amira Musallam from an advocacy group called Unarmed Civilian Protection in Palestine, who described an alleged attack by Israeli settlers in a house near the olive grove the group harvested that day.

Lander, the former New York City comptroller , is running against Republican candidate Jennifer Moore in New York’s 10th Congressional District. He defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman (D) in the Democratic primary earlier this year.

The Hill has reached out to Lander’s campaign.

This incident comes days after The Washington Post said one of its photojournalists, Heidi Levine, was attacked by Israeli settlers while working on assignment in the West Bank.

The Post shared a video capturing the incident the on social platform X , which appeared to show masked Israeli settlers attacking Levine while she was on the ground.

In a statement following the incident , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack, saying, “Israel unequivocally condemns violence against anyone—Jews, Arabs, Christians or journalists. Those responsible will be held accountable.”

Netanyahu also raised questions about the encounter in his post saying, “Reports indicate some 200 Arabs and far-left activists confronted approximately 40 Israeli youths.”

“Footage shows masked individuals on both sides hurling objects, amid reports of fireworks fired at Jewish youths. Other footage appears to show Levine knocked down and immediately helped to her feet by the same unidentified individual,” he added.