Rabbi Dov Lior, born in Poland in 1933, issued the ruling on Friday, arguing that Palestinian landowners who could not access their olives during the harvest due to Israeli restrictions have been adequately compensated in previous years when they had access. According to the ruling, Jews are therefore permitted to pick these olives to assert ownership over the land.
Lior went further, classifying the theft of olives from Palestinian farms as an “additional virtue” as settler pogroms and the Israeli occupation continue in the West Bank. He urged settlers to “conquer the land” far from Jewish communities in order to “demonstrate our ownership” and follow a biblical commandment.
The ruling states: “The Jewish people have never given up on the Land of Israel, as we express in our prayers every single day. The Arabs never purchased the land from the Jewish people or from any individual Jew, and therefore it is stolen land in their hands… They never bought it in any way and it remained under the ownership of the Jewish people.”
The edict coincides with another wave of settler violence against Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest. On Friday, at least 19 people were injured in 34 attacks by the Israeli military and settlers on Palestinians harvesting their crops across the West Bank.
The olive harvest season has become an annual flashpoint, with Palestinian farmers often facing attacks and access restrictions. The ruling is likely to further inflame tensions as the harvest continues.