Israeli Forces Detain 11 International Activists Aiding Olive Harvest Near Hebron

Eleven international solidarity activists were detained by Israeli forces on Thursday while helping Palestinian farmers harvest olives in Al-Buwaib, a village south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian volunteer campaign Fazaa.

The campaign said the detainees had been held since morning without Israeli authorities providing any explanation. It identified the group as including nationals of Italy, Germany, the United States, Britain and Australia.

The activists had been held since Thursday morning, without Israeli authorities providing an explanation for their detention, the Fazaa campaign said.

Italy's Foreign Ministry confirmed that four Italian women were among those detained and said it had contacted Israeli authorities seeking clarification about the circumstances, lending government-level corroboration to the campaign's account. Israeli authorities did not immediately comment on the reported detentions.

Harvest season under guard

The activists were in Al-Buwaib as part of efforts to accompany Palestinian farming families during the olive harvest, a period when Palestinian communities across the West Bank routinely report settler attacks, land-access restrictions and military intervention. A photograph distributed by Anadolu Agency from Beita, near Nablus, earlier this month showed Israeli forces and settlers moving against farmers and international volunteers during harvest activity, part of a broader pattern documented this season.

International accompaniment of Palestinian farmers during the harvest has become a recurring feature of the season, with volunteers present specifically because communities say the presence of outside observers can reduce the likelihood or severity of settler confrontations. The detention of a group this size, drawn from five countries, marks one of the larger such incidents reported this month.

The episode follows a similar detention of volunteers near Nahalin on October 21, and comes amid what rights groups describe as an escalation in military operations and settler attacks on Palestinians and their property across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the war in Gaza began in October 2023.

No charges or legal basis for the detentions had been disclosed as of publication. Italy's diplomatic inquiry remains pending a response from Israeli authorities.