Unlawful Restrictions on Palestinian Farmers Trying to Access Their Lands
ACRI petitioned the Supreme Court on October 14, 2026, on behalf of six Palestinian farmers from the village of Nahalin in the Gush Etzion area, who are being kept away from their agricultural lands by soldiers and settlers. The petition demands the removal of barriers that were placed on agricultural roads without any legal basis and that the farmers be allowed to return to and cultivate their lands.
Since October 2023, Nahalin residents have been denied access to agricultural lands they have cultivated for generations. Roads leading to the land have been blocked with piles of dirt and stones; soldiers have ordered farmers away from their lands based on verbal instructions, without presenting an order; settlers threaten and attack farmers, drive them from their plots, and bring flocks of sheep onto the land to damage the crops. In the cases described in the petition, rather than protecting the Palestinian farmers, soldiers removed them from their lands and even detained them using violence. Farmers have also been prevented from passing through the Etzion checkpoint on the grounds that their names do not appear on a secret list, whose criteria for inclusion are unknown.
Three years of being denied access to their lands have caused Nahalin’s farmers extensive income and crop losses. Olive groves and vineyards remain in a state of neglect, and soil and crops have been damaged. Beyond the economic impact, the prolonged lack of access to the lands jeopardizes their rights and leaves the lands vulnerable to takeover.
The petition emphasizes that no legal basis has been presented for the movement and access, and that repeated appeals to the authorities over the course of approximately a year have gone unanswered. This violates the authorities’ duty to ensure freedom of movement, protect the property and security of Palestinian residents, and allow them to cultivate their lands. It also contravenes Supreme Court rulings and the military’s own directives, which stipulate that farmers may not be denied access to their lands without a lawful order, and that security forces must protect them from settler violence rather than remove them in order to prevent friction.
HCJ 41611-10-26 -------- v. Commander of the IDF Forces in the West Bank
Attorney: Reut Shaer
The petition, October 14, 2026 (Heb)`
The petition was written with the assistance of ACRI Field Coordinator Muhannad Anati and legal intern Saly May
