Israeli police said on Monday they were examining a complaint filed by the Rabbis for Human Rights NGO against Rabbi Dov Lior over a religious ruling that permits Jews to harvest olives belonging to Palestinians in the West Bank, the Times of Israel reported.

In the ruling, written on Friday, Lior said Palestinian land “had essentially been stolen from Jews”, since the Jewish people never willingly relinquished its property in the Land of Israel, and that Jews were therefore permitted to harvest olive trees on Palestinian property “in order to show to the public our ownership of the land”.