US congressional hopeful Brad Lander released from West Bank detention; dozens still held

Published On 21 Oct 202621 Oct 2026

United States Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander said he was released from Israeli military custody on Wednesday with a warning after being detained while assisting Palestinian farmers harvest olives in the occupied West Bank.

However, Lander noted that several dozen others, including rabbis and international volunteers, remain in detention, calling for their immediate release.

“I’ve been released from IDF custody with a ‘warning,’ apparently because of my public profile,” Lander wrote on X. “I told them I wasn’t even a congressmember yet, just a nominee.”

Lander, a former New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate, was among approximately 80 volunteers detained by Israeli soldiers and police near the village of Nahalin, outside Bethlehem, according to the Israeli organization Rabbis for Human Rights.

The group, comprising American, Israeli, Palestinian, British and Canadian volunteers, had been accompanying Palestinian farmers for about two hours when Israeli forces arrived and informed them that they were in a closed military zone.

The volunteers were subsequently taken to a police station, according to Rabbis for Human Rights.

The Israeli government has not responded to a request for comment.

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