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Last week, amid a joint speech by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, colleague parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I raised a sign urging the recognition of Palestine. We were forcibly ejected from the legislative assembly, revealing the weak condition of what's often portrayed as the "sole democratic state in the Middle East". How can leaders talk about Middle East peace while refusing to acknowledge a people deprived of basic liberties and rights under decades-long occupation?

The Reality in the Occupied West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more apparent than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of peace sound remote and weak, while the frightening echoes of settler violence and intimidation persist strongly. More than 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinian civilians have been recorded since the unveiling of the US 20-point plan in September's end, including physical assaults, stealing of crops, and burning of vehicles and belongings.

Targeted Aggression During Harvest Season

The rise in violence by colonists is not coincidental. This time marks the beginning of harvest seasons. More than a crucial economic activity, it represents an important communal and cultural occasion that shows endurance under military rule. Precisely for these causes, annually settlers attack Palestinian farmers throughout this crucial period. During the 2024 harvest season, rights groups documented 113 distinct cases of aggression, intimidation, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive groves and crops involving Israeli civilians and soldiers, which occurred on territories owned by 51 Palestinian villages, towns, and areas.

Israeli security forces appeared to have had a greater role in obstructing the olive harvest

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israeli security forces appeared to have had a larger role in hindering the olive harvest". In about 70% of cases where access to lands was forcibly blocked, soldiers, border guards, and settlement security officials were actually present. They either personally prevented Palestinians from reaching and harvesting their property, or failed to prevent colonists who threatened or assaulted them.

Political Support for Colonization

This comes as no shock, as the head of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional official in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a special COGAT unit removed personally-owned olive plants of Palestinians, claiming lack of permits, but ignored violations by an illegal adjacent settler outpost. Last week, the Jerusalem district court decided to stop all building work in the encampment, which was built on property seized by Israel and unlawfully transferred to colonists.

Takeover Goals and Global Response

In the occupied West Bank, settler terrorism is nothing but a tool used by the government to pursue de-facto annexation. Recently, Smotrich headed a march of many of settlers in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as saying, "We persist to establish presence with our presence of the Land of Israel with numerous settlers, numerous heroes, and countless of colonists who live in this area of the land ... we must to normalize it and make it eternal."

The colonists and their backers in the parliament are clear about their intentions and goals. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations hesitate from substantial penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the United Kingdom in June, but the impact of the sanction has been limited. He may not be able to travel to the United Kingdom and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the ministerial power to seize territories in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of sanctions, the UK emphasized they apply "in his personal capacity" only.

Global Acknowledgment and Reality

If the UK government recognizes the reality of settler violence and its serious consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit settlement produce to be marketed in markets and outlets in the UK? If the British leader is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how can he allow the Israeli government to violate its independence with such violent means? Or was the recognition an empty tactic to silence opposition in the United Kingdom, a meaningless act only to be realised in the rebranding of some maps?

Route Toward True Peace

A fair resolution must respect the basic entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-determination, sovereignty, and freedom from occupation and siege. Only when every human being's worth across the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we genuinely declare peace has been attained.

True resolution demands an sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel: this is the sole formula that has consensus among the global community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have applied influence on the Israeli leader to stop the genocide, but he likely 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 Palestinian territories, and the persistent opposition protests inside Israel, are the actual factors behind this influence.

It is thanks to this massive public campaign that a truce has been signed, the captives released, and the residents of Gaza can experience protection from annihilation. After the truce arrangement has been finalized, it is vital to keep maintaining this pressure. The international community has turned a blind eye to the violence in the strip for too long; it must not repeat the same error in the West Bank.