American Activists Detained in West Bank During Olive Harvest

11/3/25

By Yona Roizman

Two American Jewish women have been arrested and are facing deportation for participating in a Jewish-Palestinian solidarity program organised by Achavat Amim and Rabbis for Human Rights. The program protects Palestinian farmers from settler attacks during the olive harvest in the West Bank. The activists who have been arrested during the harvest near the village of Burin, which they joined together with the Israeli volunteers organized by the Rabbis for Human Rights. All activists were detained by the army and questioned at the police station in the settlement of Ariel. While the Israeli participants were let go, two American participants were kept in detention and are facing deportation. Now, two days later it is still unknown where exactly the activists are and how they are doing. This deportation is exceptional and unexpected: the activists were not organisers, just part of the group where everyone else was released without charges. The population and immigration authority claims that the activists “violated IDF orders”, but other people in the group say that everyone followed orders of the Army without any resistance.

This arrest and deportation come after the last weeks of the olive harvest in the West Bank, which have been marked by unprecedented settler violence. The Israeli army has not only been unhelpful in protecting the Palestinian farmers against settler attacks, but sometimes took the side of the attackers. Two days ago IDF used tear gas to disperse the farmers near the village of Turmus Ayya instead of stopping the settlers that were attacking them. This deportation is part of the sad general trend of recent years: Israeli institutions have chosen to side with the far-right extremists against the civil society and human rights organisations. We hope for a quick release and well-being of the detained activists, and for the peaceful continuation of the olive harvest.