Israel deports 32 foreign activists who expressed solidarity with Palestinians during the olive harvest.

The Israeli occupation authorities announced today, Wednesday, the deportation of 32 foreign activists who participated in a solidarity event with Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest season in the occupied West Bank, claiming they violated military orders and were linked to an agricultural organization that Israel classifies as 'terrorist.'

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin stated that, in coordination with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, he issued instructions for the deportation of the activists. He noted that the decision came after an investigation conducted by Israeli authorities based on a complaint from the head of the settlements council in northern West Bank, Yossi Dagan, who described them as 'anarchists who carried out provocations,' according to his claims.

Levin added, in a statement published via the Telegram platform, that 'the decisive action sends a clear message that Israel will not tolerate those who violate its sovereignty or support terrorism.' According to the Israeli statement, the incident occurred last Thursday near a farm south of Nablus, where the activists organized 'a demonstration on agricultural land subject to military orders allowing only olive pickers to remain there during the season.'

Among those deported was a British young man named Rudy Shukoldin, who told Agence France-Presse that he came to the West Bank in solidarity with Palestinian farmers who face repeated attacks from settlers during the olive season.

Local media also reported that the Israeli army arrested the activists while they were participating in olive picking alongside Palestinians, in a move aimed at documenting the violations faced by farmers from settlers.

'The Union of Agricultural Work Committees' is a non-governmental agricultural organization registered with the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, and it is one of the largest agricultural development institutions established in 1986.

For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the arrest and deportation of the activists, affirming that they were participating in a solidarity campaign with the locals to document the attacks by settlers.

Since October 2023, due to the attacks by settlers, Palestinian farmers have faced significant difficulties and dangers in accessing those lands during the olive harvesting season without the presence of foreign supporters.

According to data from the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, settlers carried out 7,154 attacks against Palestinians and their properties in the West Bank in the years of extermination in the Gaza Strip, which resulted in the martyrdom of 33 citizens and the displacement of 33 Palestinian Bedouin communities, as well as the establishment of 114 settlement outposts.