US military veteran arrested by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank

A United States military veteran was arrested by Israeli forces while accompanying a Palestinian farmer in a village in the West Bank, according to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).

Michael Jacobsen was in the Palestinian village of Masafer Yatta in the Hebron governorate when he and other activists as well as Palestinian land owners were approached by Israeli soldiers on Thursday morning.

The ISM said the farmer Jacobsen was accompanying was facing "daily harassment, attacks, and invasions of his private land by Israeli settlers and occupation forces".

The soldiers demanded their identification and later Israeli police were called, who arrested Jacobsen and took him into custody at an interrogation centre.

"This interrogation center is home to the special task force created by the notorious Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. The task force was created as a response to some states, including the US, sanctioning violent settlers," the Palestinian-led ISM said in a statement shared with Middle East Eye.

Read more: US military veteran arrested by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank