Prominent Israeli rabbi rules Jews may pick olives from Palestinian groves

Israel’s prominent rabbi Dov Lior ruled on Friday that Jews may pick olives from Palestinian-owned groves in the occupied West Bank, Haaretz reported. Lior claimed the land belongs to the Jewish people, and said harvesting it publicly asserts Jewish ownership and fulfils the religious duty of "conquering the land." The ruling contradicts a letter issued a week earlier by six other Israeli rabbis, who said picking olives from Palestinian groves was forbidden as theft. It comes amid a surge in settler attacks during the olive harvest, with Israeli rights group Yesh Din recording at least 170 since 27 September. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, attacks during the olive harvest are particularly significant, as access to agricultural land and livelihoods are a major context for Israeli settler violence. It has documented injuries to farmers and the destruction of hundreds of olive trees across several towns in the occupied West Bank.