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Last Monday, amid a combined speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, fellow parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner urging the recognition of Palestine. We were forcibly ejected from the legislative assembly, revealing the weak condition of what's frequently portrayed as the "sole democratic state in the region". How can leaders talk about regional peace while declining to acknowledge a population denied of basic liberties and entitlements under decades-long occupation?

The Reality in the Occupied West Bank

In no place is the deceit more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of peace sound distant and faint, while the frightening sounds of settler violence and intimidation continue loudly. More than 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been documented since the announcement of the US peace proposal in late September, including attacks, stealing of crops, and burning of cars and property.

Targeted Aggression During Harvest Season

The rise in settler terrorism is deliberate. This period marks the beginning of agricultural harvesting. Beyond a vital economic event, it represents an significant social and national moment that demonstrates resilience under military rule. Exactly for these causes, year after year colonists target Palestinian farmers during this precious time. During the 2024 harvest season, rights groups documented 113 separate incidents of aggression, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or damage to olive groves and produce involving Israeli civilians and soldiers, which occurred on territories owned by 51 Palestinian-owned communities, towns, and communities.

Israel's military appeared to have had a greater role in obstructing the olive harvest

Yesh Din also found that "Israel's military seemed to have played a greater part in obstructing the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of cases where entry to lands was violently prevented, soldiers, border police officers, and settlement security officials were actually present. They either personally prevented Palestinian farmers from reaching and gathering their own lands, or failed to prevent colonists who threatened or attacked them.

Political Support for Colonization

This comes as no surprise, as the head of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an extra minister in the Defense Ministry responsible for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a special COGAT unit uprooted private olive plants of Palestinians, citing missing documentation, but ignored violations by an illegal adjacent colonist encampment. Last week, the local court ruled to halt all building work in the outpost, which was built on property seized by Israeli authorities and unlawfully given to settlers.

Annexation Goals and Global Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a instrument used by the government to achieve practical incorporation. Earlier this month, Smotrich led a march of many of colonists in support of annexation the West Bank. He was quoted as saying, "We persist to establish presence with our feet of the territory with many pioneers, numerous champions, and countless of colonists who live in this area of the territory ... we must to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their supporters in the parliament are clear about their intentions and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the west refrain from meaningful penalties and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in the summer, but the impact of the penalty has been limited. He may not be permitted to go to the UK and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the governmental authority to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the declaration of penalties, the UK emphasized they take place "personally" solely.

Global Acknowledgment and Actual Situation

If the UK government recognizes the reality of settler violence and its grave consequences on Palestinian life, why does it still allow goods from settlements to be marketed in markets and outlets in Britain? If the British leader is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how can he permit the Israeli government to violate its sovereignty with such aggressive methods? Or was the acknowledgment an hollow ploy to silence opposition in the UK, a meaningless gesture only to be realised in the rebranding of some cartographic representations?

Route Toward Genuine Resolution

A just resolution must respect the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian population for self-determination, independence, and liberty from military occupation and siege. Only when every human being's dignity between the river and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we truly declare reconciliation has been achieved.

True peace requires an sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel: this is the sole solution that has agreement among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace advocates.

Trump may have applied influence on Netanyahu to halt the violence, but he likely only did so because the strain of his relationship with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become too great. The large demonstrations throughout the world for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the persistent anti-government protests inside the country, are the real factors behind this influence.

It is thanks to this massive public campaign that a ceasefire has been agreed, the hostages freed, and the people of the territory can enjoy protection from destruction. Following the truce arrangement has been signed, it is crucial to keep maintaining this pressure. The international community has ignored to the violence in the strip for too long; it must not make the same mistake in the West Bank.