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

Six Palestinian farmers have filed a petition with the High Court of Justice seeking to restore access to agricultural land around Nahalin in the West Bank. They allege that since October 2023, soldiers and settlers have prevented or severely limited their work without presenting any orders authorizing these restrictions.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), acting on the farmers’ behalf, has requested an urgent hearing as the olive harvest begins. The farmers report that they are facing a fourth harvest under restrictive conditions that have damaged crops, deprived families of income, and left cultivated land vulnerable to encroachment.

The petition, filed on Wednesday, names 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 as respondents.

A central claim in the filing is the absence of any disclosed legal basis for the restrictions. Rather than contesting a specific closure order, the farmers assert that no such order has been presented to them, their lawyers, or local Palestinian authorities despite repeated requests.

They describe a series of overlapping obstacles: agricultural roads blocked with earth and stones, soldiers ordering farmers off their plots, threats and violence from settlers, and a checkpoint where passage reportedly 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 away at the Etzion checkpoint since April 2024 because their names were missing from an internal list. They claim that neither the criteria for inclusion nor the legal authority for denying passage have been explained, and attempts to add names through Palestinian liaison officials have failed.

The land in question, located southwest of Bethlehem, includes olive groves, vineyards, fruit trees, and seasonal crops. Some petitioners assert ownership through family holdings, while others cultivate leased land, including property belonging to the Muslim religious trust Wakf.

One farmer reported working a plot for roughly 50 years before increasing harassment and military instructions prevented him from continuing. The petition notes that access varies: cultivation has ceased on some plots, while farmers continue to attempt to reach others despite threats of expulsion or violence.

In a specific incident detailed in the filing, a farmer said settlers brought sheep into his olive grove on June 23, 2026, causing tree damage. After calling police, who allegedly failed to respond, soldiers arrived, detained him, threatened him at gunpoint, and ordered him to leave without removing the settlers.

The petition also recounts a September 14, 2025, visit conducted with 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, affidavits, land records, and police complaints. It lists four written communications with authorities between October 2025 and August 2026, none of which received a response.

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

The legal argument references the High Court’s 2006 Morar ruling, which held that removing Palestinian farmers from their land to protect them from attacks was disproportionate. The ruling emphasized that authorities should provide protection and act against those responsible for threats, while preserving narrowly limited emergency powers to impose temporary closures.

ACRI contends that such exceptions cannot justify restrictions persisting for years without a disclosed order. The organization further notes that the damage extends beyond missed harvests: trees and soil require regular care, and prolonged absence risks takeover of the plots, jeopardizing the farmers’ interests.

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

The petition seeks several remedies: removal of unlawfully placed barriers, assurance of access wherever no valid, duly published restriction applies, and instructions for troops not to demand prior coordination without legal authority. It also requests that residents be allowed to pass through the checkpoint to reach their farmland, a short deadline for authorities’ response, and an urgent hearing.

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