Palestinian farmers petition High Court over three years of blocked access to West Bank land

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which submitted the petition on their behalf, is seeking an urgent hearing as the olive harvest begins.

Six Palestinian farmers have petitioned the High Court of Justice to restore access to agricultural land around Nahalin in the West Bank, saying soldiers and settlers have prevented or severely restricted their work since October 2023 without presenting orders authorizing the restrictions.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which submitted the petition on their behalf, is seeking an urgent hearing as the olive harvest begins. The farmers say they face a fourth harvest under restrictions that have damaged crops, deprived families of income, and left cultivated land vulnerable to encroachment.

The petition, dated Wednesday, targets the IDF commander in the West Bank, the head of the Civil Administration, and the commander of the Israel Police’s Judea and Samaria District.

Its central argument concerns the absence of any disclosed legal basis for the restrictions. Rather than asking the court to overturn a particular closure order, the farmers say no such order has been shown to them, their lawyers, or local Palestinian authorities despite repeated requests.

They describe overlapping obstacles: agricultural roads blocked with earth and stones, soldiers ordering farmers off their plots, settler threats and violence, and a checkpoint where passage allegedly depends on an unexplained list of approved residents.

Petition says criteria for inclusion on Etzion checkpoint list left unexplained

According to the petition, farmers have been turned back at the Etzion checkpoint since April 2024 because their names were absent from that list. They say neither the criteria for inclusion nor the legal authority for denying passage has been explained, and attempts to add names through Palestinian liaison officials have failed.

The land includes olive groves, vineyards, fruit trees, and seasonal crops around Nahalin, southwest of Bethlehem. Some petitioners claim ownership through family holdings; others cultivate leased land, including property belonging to the Muslim religious trust Wakf.

One farmer says he worked a plot for approximately 50 years before worsening harassment and military instructions prevented him from continuing. The petition acknowledges that access varies: cultivation has stopped on some plots, while farmers continue trying to reach others despite the threat of expulsion or violence.

In one incident described in the filing, on June 23, 2026, a farmer said settlers brought sheep into his olive grove, damaging trees. He called police, who he said did not arrive. Soldiers who subsequently reached the site allegedly detained him, threatened him at gunpoint, and ordered him to leave instead of removing the settlers.

The petition also describes a September 14, 2025, visit accompanied by the farmers’ lawyer, during which soldiers allegedly claimed a closure order existed but did not produce it.

The filing includes photographs and mapped locations of roadblocks and cites affidavits, land records, and police complaints. It lists four written approaches to the authorities between October 2025 and August 2026, which it says received no response.

High Court ruling from 2006 says Palestinian farmers should not be kept off land

The legal argument draws on the High Court’s 2006 Morar ruling, which held that keeping Palestinian farmers off their land to protect them from attacks was disproportionate. Authorities should provide protection and act against those responsible for the threats. The ruling nevertheless preserved narrowly limited emergency powers to impose temporary closures.

ACRI argues that such exceptions cannot justify restrictions continuing for years without a disclosed order. It also says the damage extends beyond missed harvests: trees and soil require regular care, and prolonged absence exposes plots to takeover and threatens the farmers’ interests in the land.

“The state and the army are obligated to protect Palestinian residents, their property and their livelihoods,” ACRI attorney Reut Shaer said in the accompanying statement.

The petition asks the court to order the removal of unlawfully placed barriers, ensure access wherever no valid, duly published restriction applies, and instruct troops not to demand prior coordination without legal authority. It also seeks to allow residents to pass through the checkpoint to access their farmland, set a short deadline for the authorities’ response, and request an urgent hearing.