Israel set to deport 4 activists detained after participating in Palestinian olive harvest, over 70 others freed

Israel has initiated pre-deportation procedures for four of the left-wing activists detained earlier today by security forces after helping Palestinian olive growers harvest their crop, with over 70 others released, some of whom have been barred from the West Bank.

Police say four foreign activists are set to have a pre-deportation hearing at the Population and Immigration Authority tomorrow after investigators found they have a history of online “anti-Israel activity” and “support for organizations opposed to Israel.”

Another 32 activists were released under the condition that they stay away from the West Bank, and 40 other activists have been released without restrictions, police say. Another activist, US congressional candidate Brad Lander, was released earlier today.

Of the almost 80 activists detained, 52 were foreigners, the majority of whom are Jewish, the Rabbis for Human Rights organization that organized the harvesting activity says.

Barbara Gaffin, one of the activists who participated in the olive harvest, said earlier that the activists were concerned they would be expelled and banned from the country.

The police took fingerprints and photographs of those detained, she added.

Last year, several activists were expelled and banned from Israel after being detained while helping Palestinians with the olive harvest, while two weeks ago, the commander of the police’s Judea and Samaria (West Bank) district said that the police force in the district would act to “expel and prevent the arrival of foreign citizens, supporters of the enemy and of terrorism, who arrive in the country under the cover of humanitarian organizations and human rights groups, and act to delegitimize the State of Israel around the world.”

The activists were detained by the IDF and police in olive groves between the West Bank Palestinian town of Nahalin and the settlement of Beitar Illit. The IDF says that the activists were in an area requiring prior coordination with the military, but military maps show this not to be the case.

“This is a little bit absurd, were doing nothing illegal, we were simply picking olives, helping Palestinians with their annual harvest, it’s all legal,” says Gaffin, 72, from Newton, Massachusetts in the US.

“I consider myself a Zionist, I come to Israel every year, I’m a strong supporter of human rights, and I care about democracy and human rights,” continues Gaffin, who says that in years past she also assisted Ethiopian Jews in Ethiopia seeking to get to Israel and refuseniks in the Soviet Union.

“I’ve heard about what’s been going on in the West Bank, and I felt it was important that I participate in the harvest,” she continues, in reference to the severe violence Palestinian farmers have suffered at the hands of settler extremists in recent weeks and months.

“I believe in a healthy, strong democratic Israel, and a lot of people here believe in the same; we all love Israel, many of us believe in a Jewish homeland, and it’s tragic that this is what it has come to.”

Yehoshua Schoffman, a former deputy attorney general, was also among the participants in the olive harvest and was also detained.

“They told me I was detained on suspicion of olive harvesting,” Schoffman writes sardonically on X. “There was no friction whatsoever with settlers or security forces.”

The incident near the village of Nahalin was not the only one in which Palestinians and activists were detained by Israeli forces while trying to harvest olives.

עוד מהבלאגן בג׳אלוד, מתנחלים פתחו באש לעבר הכפר. מעניין אם הצבא יעצור אותם כמו שהוא עצר 80 פעילי נוכחות מגנה היום. https://t.co/gITWdqxbFM pic.twitter.com/AsbZGaRh6t

— Arbel – ארבל ???? (@ArbelReports) October 21, 2026

A similar incident was reported in Turmus Ayya, where the IDF blocked Palestinians, activists and journalists from reaching olive trees, declaring the area a closed military zone.

In the northern West Bank village of Jalud, Palestinian media reported that settlers opened fire on olive harvesters and vandalized a number of trees.

The IDF did not immediately respond to comment on either incident.

גם בתורמוס עיא הבוקר, הצבא מעלה מדרגה מול פעילים וגם מול עיתונאים זרים, ועוצר אותם מללוות אזרחים במסיק זיתים.

איפה הנוכחות הצבאית הזאת הייתה כשמתנחלים הרביצו לדיפלומטים זרים בטייבה? איפה היא הייתה כשהרביצו לעיתונאית האמריקאית היידי לוין? pic.twitter.com/mXFn3PDXgW

— Arbel – ארבל ???? (@ArbelReports) October 21, 2026