Israel to deport 14 activists

Fourteen foreign nationals face deportation after Israeli police detained them in the central West Bank this week. The arrests occurred on Friday during an olive harvest in Kafr Ni'ma, a village in the Ramallah area. Three Palestinians were also taken into custody on suspicion of disturbing public order.

Police stated that interrogations revealed the detainees intended to create anti-Israel media campaigns. Authorities noted that some of the foreigners support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. The investigation into the three Palestinian detainees is still underway.

The Palestinian group Faz3a reported that 17 people were detained at the site. Their list included 12 foreign volunteers, two foreign journalists, two Palestinian landowners, and one Faz3a activist. The group claimed settlers attacked the harvesters and held them until soldiers and police arrived to make the arrests.

Settler activists published video of the detainees boarding a bus owned by the Mateh Binyamin Development Company. The activists said the municipal authority sent the vehicle to transport the group to a police station in Modiin Illit. They described the event as a planned provocation near the settlement of Sde Efraim.

This incident follows a pattern of detentions during this year's harvest. On November 1, police deported 13 foreign nationals near Lubban al-Gharbiya. Their lawyer, Alon Sapir, said the group had a closed military zone order presented to them by soldiers. He noted the order was issued for the area on the same day.

A 2017 law allows Israel to deny entry to foreign nationals who publicly call for a boycott of Israel. The law does not apply to Israeli citizens or permanent residents. On October 21, forces detained more than 70 activists, including US congressional candidate Brad Lander, who has since been elected to Congress.