Rabbi's ruling on taking Palestinian olives and harvest attacks in the West Bank, report says

OCCUPIED WEST BANK — A Palestinian research centre, Madar, said on Monday that an Israeli rabbi ruled taking Palestinian olives in the West Bank is permissible, as attacks on farmers continued during the harvest, Anadolu Agency reported.

All details in this report come from Anadolu Agency's account of the Madar findings. Zenga News has not independently verified them.

The rabbi's ruling

According to Anadolu, Madar said Rabbi Dov Lior issued the ruling on Oct. 16. Anadolu describes him as a former rabbi of the Kiryat Arba settlement and a religious authority linked to the far-right Jewish Power party.

Lior declared that taking Palestinian olives in the West Bank is "completely permissible" and carries "additional virtue," according to the Madar report as relayed by Anadolu.

The report says he argued that Palestinians barred from their groves for security reasons could be considered to have abandoned their crops. It also says he claimed the land belongs to the Jewish people under Jewish religious law. According to the report, he added that Palestinians who planted the trees had already been compensated through harvests in earlier years.

Anadolu said Israeli Channel 13 first reported the ruling on Friday. The channel said it allowed Israeli settlers to take olives, including from areas beyond the immediate vicinity of settlements.

Attacks and access restrictions

Madar cited the Israeli rights group Yesh Din as saying hundreds of attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers had been documented in 171 Palestinian communities since this year's harvest began, Anadolu reported.

The report says Palestinians were completely prevented from harvesting in 68 cases. It says crops were stolen in 119 cases.

Madar also pointed to military restrictions on farmers' access to land, according to Anadolu. Citing a September report in the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, it said Palestinians would no longer be allowed to harvest on land Israel classifies as "state land" across the West Bank. Harvesting on privately owned land would require prior security coordination with Israeli authorities.

Madar said these rules, together with the growth of settlement outposts, have increasingly cut farmers off from their groves, per Anadolu.

Attacks on foreign nationals

The report also referred to recent attacks on foreign nationals who accompanied farmers, Anadolu said. It said American photojournalist Heidi Levine, who works for The Washington Post, was assaulted by Israeli settlers while covering the harvest near Ramallah on Friday.

A day later, masked settlers attacked vehicles carrying European diplomats on a harvest visit to the town of Taybeh, according to the report. At least one vehicle was damaged.

Anadolu did not report any response from Lior, the Israeli military or Israeli authorities to the findings.

Background

Madar cited an Israeli Civil Administration document, according to Anadolu. The document says Palestinian olive groves cover about 845,000 dunams (208,800 acres) and hold around 12.6 million trees. It says more than 100,000 Palestinian families depend on olive growing for their livelihoods.

The Madar report was written by researcher Walid Habbas, Anadolu said.

Anadolu noted that Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967. It said Israeli settlements in the territory are illegal under international law.