❗️Top Israeli rabbi issues ruling permitting settlers to steal Palestinian olive harvest Israeli Rabbi Dov Lior has issued a religious ruling permitting Israeli settlers to take olives from Palestinian-owned land across the occupied West Bank, claiming that harvesting the crop demonstrates Jewish ownership of the land, according to Israeli Channel 13. Lior argued that Palestinians had never legally purchased the land from Jews and therefore had no legitimate ownership rights over either the land or its produce. He also claimed that Palestinians had already been compensated for planting olive trees through years of consuming their fruit, extending his ruling to groves located far from Israeli settlements. The ruling comes amid escalating settler attacks on Palestinian farmers during the annual olive harvest, including assaults, crop theft, destruction of trees and restrictions on access to agricultural land. Palestinian farmers have faced growing obstacles to harvesting their own crops, while Israeli forces have also seized olives from Palestinian pickers. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law, and a religious ruling does not override Palestinian property rights or authorize the seizure of their land and harvest.