West Bank Border: Three Arrested After Tensions During Olive Harvest

Police and Israel Defense Forces personnel separated two groups of people near the West Bank settlement of Duma on October 31, resulting in the arrest of three suspects. A security source confirmed that officers were dispatched to the scene to manage the confrontation. The three individuals were taken into custody for police questioning immediately after the incident.

This clash occurred the same day The Guardian reported that Israeli authorities blocked a multinational delegation from entering the West Bank. The group consisted of 23 nationals from France, Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, and the United States. They had planned to travel during the olive harvest season to attend the Second Ramallah Congress in November. The event is co-hosted by Progressive International and Birzeit University.

The congress website states that the program allows participants to hear expert testimony and deliberate on the economic and legal dimensions of occupation. Organizers aim to prepare a collective roadmap for urgent international action. UK Labour Party member Sam Tarry described the entry ban as a political decision. He stated that authorities wanted to prevent people from witnessing conditions in the West Bank, particularly ahead of upcoming elections.

Tarry claimed Israeli officials stopped and held the group for approximately nine hours before refusing entry without providing an explanation. Clive Lewis, another UK Labour Party parliament member, told The Guardian that the experience was deeply unpleasant. He noted that members of the delegation were detained, taken aside, and interrogated. Lewis added that people were shouted at and questioned about their reasons for traveling and the narratives they intended to share.

The arrests near Duma and the border detention of the delegation both occurred within the same 24-hour window. The security source who confirmed the Duma arrests did not specify the nationalities or ages of the three suspects. The multinational group includes citizens from eight different countries. The Second Ramallah Congress remains scheduled for November despite the initial entry ban.