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Last Monday, amid a combined address by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, fellow lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state. We were violently ejected from the parliamentary assembly, revealing the weak state of what's frequently portrayed as the "only democratic state in the region". How can leaders talk about Middle East peace while declining to acknowledge a people denied of basic freedoms and entitlements under decades-long military control?

The Situation in the Occupied West Bank

Nowhere is the hypocrisy more apparent than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation seem distant and weak, while the frightening echoes of colonist attacks and terror continue strongly. More than 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been recorded since the announcement of the US peace proposal in late September, including attacks, stealing of agricultural produce, and torching of vehicles and property.

Targeted Violence During Harvest Season

The increase in violence by colonists is not coincidental. This period signals the start of harvest seasons. More than a crucial economic activity, it constitutes an important social and cultural occasion that shows endurance under occupation. Exactly for these causes, year after year colonists target Palestinian farmers throughout this crucial period. During the 2024 harvest season, human rights organizations documented 113 distinct cases of aggression, harassment, harvest-thwarting, or destruction to olive groves and produce involving Israeli civilians and military personnel, which occurred on territories belonging to 51 Palestinian-owned communities, municipalities, and communities.

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

The human rights group also discovered that "Israeli military seemed to have played a larger role in hindering the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of instances where entry to farmland was forcibly prevented, troops, border police officers, and settler security officials were actually present. They either directly prevented Palestinians from accessing and harvesting their property, or neglected to stop colonists who harassed or assaulted them.

Government Support for Settler Activities

This comes as no shock, as the head of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an extra minister in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In one village, for example, a special COGAT unit removed private olive trees of Palestinians, citing missing documentation, but ignored infractions by an illegal nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the Jerusalem district court ruled to stop all construction in the outpost, which was built on property taken by Israel and illegally given to settlers.

Takeover Goals and Global Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a tool used by the administration to pursue de-facto annexation. Recently, Smotrich headed a procession of thousands of colonists in support of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as stating, "We persist to take hold with our feet of the Land of Israel with many settlers, numerous heroes, and countless of colonists who live in this area of the land ... we must to normalise it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their supporters in the parliament are clear about their motives and goals. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations refrain from substantial sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was penalized by the United Kingdom in the summer, but the impact of the penalty has been minimal. He may not be able to travel to the United Kingdom and visit the West End, but he still enjoys the governmental authority to take lands in the West Bank. Even in the announcement of penalties, the UK emphasized they apply "personally" only.

International Acknowledgment and Reality

If the British administration recognizes the reality of settler violence and its serious consequences on Palestinian life, why does it still permit settlement produce to be marketed in markets and outlets in the UK? If the British leader is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a sovereign entity, how can he permit the Israeli administration to breach its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the acknowledgment an hollow tactic to shut down dissenting voices in the United Kingdom, a meaningless gesture only to be realised in the rebranding of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to True Peace

A fair resolution must honor the basic entitlements of the Palestinian population for self-recognition, independence, and freedom from military occupation and blockade. Only when every person's worth across the river and Mediterranean Sea is honored can we truly declare peace has been attained.

True peace demands an independent Palestinian nation next to the Israeli state: this is the only formula that has consensus among the global community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace camp.

The former US president may have applied pressure on Netanyahu to stop the violence, but he probably only did so because the strain of his relationship with the pariah regime of the Israeli PM had become too great. The large demonstrations throughout the world for the freedom of Palestine, and the unwavering opposition protests inside the country, are the real forces behind this influence.

It is thanks to this enormous civil movement that a ceasefire has been signed, the hostages freed, and the people of the territory can enjoy safeguard from destruction. Following the truce arrangement has been signed, it is vital to keep maintaining this influence. The world has turned a blind eye to the violence in Gaza for many years; it must not make the same mistake in the occupied territories.