MILAN: ‌Italy has called for the immediate release of ​five Italian activists, all women, held by Israeli forces in the West Bank, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday. Italian foreign ‌ministry sources ‌said ​the ‌women ⁠were detained ​on Thursday ⁠by Israeli police in Kiryat Arba along with other international activists, while seeking to protect Palestinian farmers ⁠during the olive harvest. “What ‌happened ‌is unacceptable, ​they were ‌not committing any crime,” ‌Tajani told reporters on the sidelines of an international summit in Istanbul, adding ‌he hoped they would be released in ⁠a ⁠matter of hours. The women were expected to be transferred to Israel’s immigration authority on Friday pending expulsion and repatriation procedures, Israeli authorities told Italian diplomats earlier in the ​day, ​according to the sources.