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Last Monday, amid a joint speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, fellow parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state. We were forcibly removed from the parliamentary assembly, exposing the weak state of what's often described as the "only democracy in the Middle East". How can officials talk about Middle East peace while refusing to acknowledge a people deprived of basic liberties and entitlements under decades-long occupation?

The Situation in the Occupied West Bank

Nowhere is the deceit more apparent than in the occupied West Bank. There, words of peace seem distant and weak, while the terrifying echoes of settler violence and intimidation persist loudly. More than 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinians have been recorded since the announcement of the US peace proposal in late September, including attacks, theft of crops, and torching of cars and property.

Systematic Aggression During Harvest Season

The rise in violence by colonists is not coincidental. This period signals the start of harvest seasons. Beyond a vital economic activity, it represents an significant social and national moment that shows endurance under occupation. Exactly for these reasons, year after year settlers target Palestinians throughout this crucial period. During the 2024 harvest season, human rights organizations documented 113 separate incidents of violence, harassment, harvest-thwarting, or destruction to olive trees and produce involving settlers and military personnel, which occurred on territories owned by 51 Palestinian communities, municipalities, and areas.

Israeli military appeared to have had a larger part in obstructing the olive harvest

The human rights group also found that "Israeli military appeared to have had a greater part in hindering the olive harvest". In about 70% of instances where entry to lands was violently blocked, troops, border guards, and settler security officials were actually on site. They either personally stopped Palestinians from reaching and gathering their property, or neglected to stop colonists who harassed or attacked them.

Government Support for Colonization

This comes as no shock, as the head of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra minister in the Defense Ministry responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In one village, for example, a special COGAT unit removed personally-owned olive trees of Palestinians, claiming missing documentation, but ignored infractions by an illegal nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the local court ruled to stop all building work in the outpost, which was built on property taken by Israel and illegally transferred to settlers.

Annexation Ambitions and International Response

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is simply a tool used by the administration to pursue practical incorporation. Earlier this month, Smotrich headed a march of thousands of colonists in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We persist to take hold with our feet of the territory with many pioneers, many champions, and countless of colonists who reside in this part of the land ... we must to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their supporters in the Knesset are explicit about their motives and goals. Why, then, do government officials in the west hesitate from substantial penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in June, but the effect of the sanction has been minimal. He may not be able to go to the UK and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the governmental authority to seize lands in the West Bank. Even in the declaration of sanctions, the UK highlighted they take place "in his personal capacity" only.

Global Acknowledgment and Actual Situation

If the British administration recognizes the reality of settler violence and its serious implications on Palestinian life, why does it still allow goods from settlements to be sold in stores and shops in the UK? If the British leader is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how can he allow the Israeli administration to violate its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an hollow tactic to shut down opposition in the UK, a meaningless act only to be realised in the rebranding of some cartographic representations?

Route Toward Genuine Peace

A fair resolution must respect the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-determination, sovereignty, and liberty from military occupation and siege. Only when each human being's worth between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea is honored can we truly say reconciliation has been achieved.

Genuine resolution demands an independent Palestinian state next to the Israeli state: this is the sole formula that enjoises agreement among the global community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace advocates.

The former US president may have inflicted influence on the Israeli leader to stop the violence, but he probably only did so because the burden of his connection with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become excessive. The large demonstrations throughout the world for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering opposition demonstrations inside the country, are the actual forces behind this influence.

It is due to this enormous civil movement that a truce has been agreed, the captives freed, and the people of Gaza can experience safeguard from destruction. After the truce arrangement has been finalized, it is vital to keep applying this pressure. The international community has ignored to the atrocities in Gaza for too long; it must not repeat the same error in the West Bank.