A religious ruling by Israeli Rabbi Dov Lior saying Jews may take olives from Palestinian groves in the occupied West Bank has prompted a police complaint amid reports of harvest disruption.
Lior, a former chief rabbi of Kiryat Arba, issued the ruling Oct. 16. Its text, reproduced by Israel Hayom, argues that security restrictions keeping Palestinian owners from their groves allow others to treat the olives as abandoned. Lior also asserted that Jews could harvest olives far from Israeli settlements, citing his belief that the land belongs to the Jewish people.
The Palestinian Forum for Israeli Studies (MADAR) cited Israeli rights group Yesh Din as recording reports of attacks by settlers and soldiers in 171 Palestinian communities since the harvest began. MADAR reported 119 cases of crop theft and 68 cases in which farmers were completely prevented from picking olives. The figures count communities and reported incidents separately.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that 80,000 to 100,000 Palestinian families depend on the harvest. The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture projects olive oil output of about 21,000 metric tons this year if growers can reach their trees, compared with 7,000 metric tons in 2025. OCHA says violence and access restrictions threaten farmers' livelihoods.
OCHA recorded harvest-related settler attacks rising from 33 in 2020 to 185 in 2025. Its earlier count of attacks tied to this harvest documented 199 incidents between Sept. 1 and Oct. 12, before the official Oct. 15 opening of the harvest.
Israeli group Rabbis for Human Rights filed a complaint Oct. 18 alleging that Lior's ruling incited racism and solicited theft of property, The Times of Israel reported.
Police said in a statement quoted by The Times of Israel on Oct. 19 that they had received the complaint and passed it on for examination.
