Theft of Cows Belonging to a Palestinian Farmer by Soldiers

Soldiers leading the cows from the pen owned by the petitioners to the civilian truck

About a dozen armed and uniformed soldiers arrived at a barn belonging to a Palestinian family in the West Bank, handcuffed the barn owner and his son, broke through the barn's fences, and loaded the cattle belonging to the family onto a civilian truck that arrived at the scene escorted by military jeeps. Social media posts from a group that aids settlers in pursuing agricultural projects (legal and illegal) indicate that the herd was transferred to Israeli settlers, under the guise of recovering stolen property.  

Repeated appeals by ACRI to the military demanding the return of the herd to its owners received no substantive response. Therefore, ACRI petitioned the Supreme Court on behalf of the family, demanding that the Military Advocate General and the Commander of Military Forces in the West Bank be ordered to return the stolen cattle herd, or to present a legal order detailing the grounds for the seizure of the cattle herd by the soldiers. 

The petition describes the violation of the owners' rights to property and livelihood caused by the theft of the herd, as well as an infringement on their right to human dignity. The arbitrary seizure carried out with the use of violence and threats against the owners is a clear indication of the absence of any legal authority for these actions—in short, it is simply theft.  

Even in cases where there is legal ground for the confiscation of money or property belonging to Palestinian residents, military procedures require that the soldiers carrying out the confiscation provide the owners with a report detailing the authority under which it is being carried out, the grounds for the seizure, and documentation of the confiscated property. No such report was given to the petitioners. The petition also points out that the conduct of the offending soldiers is alien to any basic legal, moral, or humanitarian principles, and reflects a callousness and intoxication with power. 

HCJ 53449-11-25 T.A. v. Commander of Military Forces in the West Bank  

Attorney: Reut Shaer  

ACRI’s petition, November 18, 2025 (Heb) 

The petition was written with the assistance of legal intern Yaser Abu Areesha