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

Israeli police are examining a complaint against Rabbi Dov Lior for a religious ruling permitting Jews to harvest olives on Palestinian land in the West Bank. The complaint, filed by Rabbis for Human Rights, alleges incitement to racism and soliciting theft. Police await a decision from the State Attorney's Office on whether to open a criminal investigation.

Israeli police said on Monday they are examining a complaint against Rabbi Dov Lior, 92, a prominent ultranationalist religious leader, over a ruling permitting Jews to harvest olives on Palestinian land in the West Bank. The complaint was filed by the Rabbis for Human Rights NGO, alleging incitement to racism and soliciting theft of property. Lior wrote in a Jewish legal ruling on Friday that Palestinian land was essentially stolen from Jews and that harvesting olives fulfills the religious commandment of conquering the land. Police are awaiting a decision from the State Attorney's Office on whether to open a criminal investigation. The ruling comes amid a rise in settler violence, including an attack on Friday where settlers threw rocks at Palestinian harvesters and a Washington Post photographer, and an attack on European diplomats on Saturday. The article notes prosecutors have been reluctant to indict rabbis over religious rulings, citing a 2012 case involving the book "Torat Hamelech."