New York congressional candidate Brad Lander

New York congressional candidate Brad Lander was detained Wednesday by the Israeli Defense Forces while harvesting olives in the occupied West Bank.

"I've been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis & volunteers. We were simply harvesting olives in a grove near Nehalim in the West Bank," Lander, the Democratic nominee for New York's 10th congressional district, said in a post on X.

"The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn't a crime under any law I know," the post continued, along with a photo of the Democrat on a bus filled with people.

Lander was released later on Wednesday afternoon. He posted another statement on social media saying he was given a "warning" by the IDF and called for the immediate release of "several dozen" rabbis and other participants still detained.

The IDF did not immediately respond, but shared a lengthy statement on X. They said the group had been conducting an "uncoordinated olive harvest" in an area that requires prior authorization.

"Due to the security risk posed by conducting an uncoordinated harvest near an Israeli community, IDF soldiers, Border Police forces in Judea and Samaria, and officers from the Judea and Samaria District Police arrived at the scene and detained those present," the statement read, in part.

Wednesday marked the third day of Lander's trip to the region, where he joined other activists and volunteers with the "Protect the Harvest" coalition. He had announced on social media that he was in the West Bank to assist local Palestinians during the olive harvest.

"You've seen what's happening over the past few weeks with Israeli settlers attacking, of course, Palestinian farmers, but also American journalists and European delegations. Thousands of Palestinians displaced from their land and their olive groves," he said in a video detailing the West Bank trip.

Lander, the former comptroller for New York City, is running for Congress in New York's 10th congressional district after defeating incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman in the primary. Lander, who is Jewish, has been critical of the Israeli government's action in Gaza.