Israeli security forces, including military and police, declared a closed military zone around a olive grove and escorted activists and rabbis away from the area before detaining them near the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit in the occupied West Bank. Ruth Sherlock/NPR hide caption
In the Israeli occupied West Bank, dozens of Americans have been detained, including a politician running for Congress. Settler violence and detentions by the Israeli military have been on the rise for years in the Palestinian territory, which is occupied by Israel. But according to two Israeli lawyers, this is the largest mass detention of activists there in a decade. A team from NPR witnessed the detention of a group made up primarily of American and Israeli rabbis, activists and U.S. Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander. They had been helping Palestinian families harvest their olives to try to prevent attacks by Israeli settlers. We hear from our reporter who witnessed the event and one of the American rabbis who was detained. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org .
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