Senior Rabbi Rules It Permissible to Harm Palestinians Harvesting Olives
Translated & summarized from Mako by baba
A senior Religious Zionist rabbi, Dov Lior, issued a ruling permitting harm to Palestinians harvesting olives, stating the land is stolen. This coincides with a doubling of West Bank confrontations during the olive harvest season. The IDF recommended investigating the rabbi for incitement, while security officials acknowledge insufficient tools to manage the escalating violence. A Washington Post photographer was assaulted by masked settlers while covering the harvest.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Senior Rabbi Dov Lior ruled it permissible to harm Palestinians harvesting olives.
- West Bank confrontations doubled during the olive harvest season, security officials note.
- The IDF recommended investigating Rabbi Lior for incitement to violence.
- Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine was attacked by masked settlers.
- Security officials admit lacking adequate tools to manage the escalating violence.
A senior rabbi within the Religious Zionism movement, Dov Lior, has issued a religious ruling stating that it is permissible to harm Palestinians engaged in olive harvesting. In his ruling, Rabbi Lior declared that "olive harvesting in the Holy Land is completely permissible and has an extra merit," asserting that Arabs never purchased the land from the people of Israel and thus it is "stolen in their hands."
This ruling comes amid a sharp increase in confrontations in the West Bank, with the number of incidents doubling in the first week of the olive harvest compared to the previous year. The IDF has recommended an investigation into Rabbi Lior on suspicion of incitement, while police are examining whether his ruling constitutes incitement to violence. Security officials admit that the security establishment lacks sufficient tools to handle these events, with some suggesting the return of administrative detentions, a move opposed by the Defense Minister. Furthermore, a directive from the Prime Minister to establish a dedicated police force for the West Bank has not been implemented.
In a separate but related incident, a photographer for The Washington Post, Heidi Levine, was attacked by masked Jewish assailants while covering Palestinian olive harvesting near Ramallah. Levine reported being beaten and robbed, stating "They just kicked me and kicked me. Luckily I had a helmet, otherwise I wouldn't be here." Videos from the scene show dozens of settlers throwing stones at Palestinian harvesters and foreign press teams. The IDF stated that dozens of Jewish rioters descended from an illegal outpost towards the village of Abu Falah, leading to stone-throwing between Palestinians and Jews. In another incident, Jewish rioters set fire to Palestinian vehicles in Turmus Ayya. No arrests were made in either incident.
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