Israel’s Justice Ministry announced today that it had ordered the deportation of 32 foreign activists who had gone to the occupied West Bank to help Palestinians harvest olives.

The deportation order, on the grounds that the activists violated a military order, is signed by Minister Yariv Levin. It was preceded by the lawsuit filed by the chairman of the council of the Jewish settlements of the northern West Bank, Yossi Dagan, against “provocateurs” and “anarchists”.

Briton Randy Sulkin, 30, is among those deported. He spoke to AFP by phone and said he went to the West Bank to support Palestinian farmers.

This year’s olive harvest has seen many violent incidents, with vandalism and attacks by Israeli settlers, according to AFP reporters. Foreign activists believe their presence prevents such incidents in the rural areas of the West Bank.

Randy Sulkin said he was held for 72 hours and then deported on October 19.

“We were arrested after the zone where we were picking olives was declared a military zone,” he explained, describing what he said was a common tactic against Palestinians. The 32 volunteers were all arrested in an olive grove near the city of Nablus, he added, and “were never brought before a judge.”

The Ministry of Justice said the deportation was co-signed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. He accused the activists of violating “an order of the military command” and of being members of the UAWC, the Union of Agricultural Committees. UAWC is a Palestinian, non-profit organization involved in the development of agriculture. Israel designated it a terrorist organization in 2021, along with five other NGOs, a decision condemned by the UN.

Sulkin did not disclose which organization he is a member of. Fouad Abu Seif, the director general of the UAWC, said the volunteers were part of a “national campaign” organized by several Palestinian NGOs and the Ministry of Agriculture. The UAWC is participating in this campaign, but did not organize it, he clarified.

The Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry condemned the arrests of the activists.