October 31, 2026, Occupied Palestine. Donato Ferdori, a 56-year-old Italian solidarity activist remains imprisoned by Israeli occupation forces at Givon prison after he decided to resist deportation. He was among 14 international activists detained on October 29 in al-Lubban al-Gharbi, northwest of Ramallah, while accompanying Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest. The other 13 activists, from Italy, the United States, the UK, Australia, Germany, Ireland and Sweden, have either been placed on deportation flights or are awaiting departure.
During the detention, the activists identified as men were handcuffed and shackled at the ankles, with some chained together in pairs. They were forced to strip to their underwear and searched, had their shoelaces confiscated and were held in a high-security cell. They were subsequently transported to Yahalom Detention Center in chains.
Ferdori was born in Bologna and currently lives in Rome. He holds a PhD, teaches philosophy, history and the humanities in secondary schools, and is a published author of essays, poetry, a novel and articles on literature, music and cinema. Explaining his decision to join international solidarity efforts in Palestine, he said:
“I stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, who are viewed by the majority of Israelis and their government as an inferior people—to be used, subjugated, tortured, and even exterminated. I can’t go on living normally as if this wasn’t happening, limiting myself to some statements on social media or participation in demonstrations. For those that can do it, it is necessary to directly oppose—without violence, yet with firm resolve—such crimes against human life and dignity, even confronting the risks that this opposition involves. As common persons, we try to do what the ‘international community’ should do and, shamefully, does not do.”
At the visa revocation hearings, Israeli officials mentioned “public security considerations” as a reason for deportation (likely referring to the false accusation of violating a closed military zone order). The activists were also questioned on supporting so called “anti-Israel organizations”. During the hearings, photographs taken by the settlers while they were attacking Palestinians in the olive groves were laid out on the immigration officer’s desk. Given that soldiers joined the settlers only when people were already forced out the olive groves, the presence of those pictures highlights coordination between the settlers and occupation soldiers.
On October 29, Israeli settlers from the Avichai Farm outpost forced Palestinian farmers and international solidarity activists to abandon the olive harvest in the Artada area of Al-Lubban al-Gharbi. The settlers followed the group into the residential area of the village, where Israeli occupation forces joined them and besieged a house where the activists had gathered. The occupation soldiers detained all 14, accusing them of violating a closed military zone order, although no such order had been presented to them on the agricultural land. Settlers reportedly remained beside the soldiers throughout. The activists were taken to the police station at the Ni’ilin checkpoint and questioned before visa revocation and deportation proceedings began.
Israeli occupation soldiers also detained and severely beat the mayor of Al-Lubban al-Gharbi. Soldiers damaged property at his carpentry workshop and threatened him, warning him not to return to the agricultural land or bring international activists to the village again.
While 13 activists have either been placed on deportation flights or are awaiting departure, the Italian activist remains in Israeli custody after resisting deportation.
The detentions come amid repeated settler attacks on farmers in al-Lubban al-Gharbi, where the expansion of the Avichai Farm outpost has brought land seizures, restricted access to farmland and displacement. The deportation of international volunteers further weakens the protective presence Palestinian farmers have asked for during the harvest.
Press release on the arrest: https://palsolidarity.org/2026/10/for-immediate-release-14-international-solidarity-activists-face-deportation-for-accompanying-palestinian-olive-harvester-in-al-lubban-al-gharbi/