Police examine complaint against rabbi’s ruling letting Jews harvest on Palestinian land

Police said on Monday they were looking into potential wrongdoing by ultranationalist religious leader Rabbi Dov Lior following a religious ruling he made last week permitting Jews to harvest olives belonging to Palestinians in the West Bank. “A complaint has been received by the Israel Police and passed on for examination, and to be addressed by the relevant authorities,” police said. Lior, 92, one of the most respected authorities among hardline Religious Zionists, wrote in a ruling of Jewish law on Friday that Palestinian land had essentially been stolen from Jews, since the Jewish people never willingly relinquished their property in the Land of Israel. Lior wrote that Jews were therefore permitted to harvest olive trees on Palestinian property, including trees that Palestinian owners could not access due to prohibitions by security services, “in order to show to the public our ownership of the land.” He added, “In so doing one fulfills the [religious] commandment of conquering the land.” Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms According to Ynet , police are awaiting a decision from the State Attorney’s Office on whether to open a criminal investigation against Lior on suspicion of incitement. On Sunday, Rabbis for Human Rights filed a complaint against Lior alleging incitement to racism and soliciting the theft of property. “I regret having to file a police complaint against a rabbi in Israel, but reality compels us to stand on the side of the Torah,” said Anton Goodman, the organization’s acting director. Advertisement “Entering others’ land and taking their crops in violation of the law — that is not what God wants from us in this land,” Goodman added. Palestinians extinguish a small fire after Israeli forces fired tear gas following a settler attack during the olive harvest in the West Bank village of Abu Falah, October 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) The ruling comes amid soaring settler violence against Palestinians this year, including two recent high-profile incidents. An attack on Friday drew widespread attention after roughly 80 settlers began throwing rocks and beating a group that included Palestinians harvesting olives, activists and Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine, who was badly injured in the attack and hospitalized. It took place near the village of Abu Falah, north of Ramallah. On Saturday, settlers attacked a group of European diplomats. For the purposes of the complaint against Lior, the Israeli penal code defines racism as “persecution, humiliation, degradation, displaying enmity, hostility, or violence, or the incitement of discord against a public or segments of the population — all on the grounds of color, membership in a race, or national-ethnic origin,” and is punishable by up to five years in prison. Prosecutors have been reluctant to indict rabbis over religious rulings, however. Advertisement In 2012, then-attorney general Yehuda Weinstein closed an investigation into the authors of the controversial book “Torat Hamelech,” which said in some situations Jewish law permits killing non-Jews. Weinstein said the case was closed because of insufficient evidence that the book had been published with the intention of inciting racism. An arrest warrant was issued against Lior in that case because he wrote an endorsement of the “Torat Hamelech” book. 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Sign in to stop seeing this Most Popular 1 Four Israeli soccer team officials arrested on suspicion of ‘systematic’ fraud 2 Fatal mass casualty incident at Canadian military base sparks major fire, leaves dead and injured 3 Rioters loot stores in Milan during cost-of-living protest featuring Palestinian symbols 4 Washington Post photojournalist beaten by settlers slams Netanyahu after surgery on nearly detached finger 5 Tesla unveils new ‘flying’ car, but consumer rollout likely still years away 6 Explainer 2026 Israeli elections: What you need to know 7 Inside story Arab states see hawks ruling Israel no matter who wins vote, but still sense room for change 8 Bennett, Liberman lay out plans to pass laws against Netanyahu immediately after election read more: Israel & the Region olive harvest West Bank settlers Dov Lior RHR Rabbis for Human Rights settler violence State Attorney's Office If you’d like to comment, join The Times of Israel Community. 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