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Last week, amid a combined address by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, fellow parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state. We were violently removed from the parliamentary session, revealing the weak state of what's frequently described as the "sole democracy in the region". How can officials talk about Middle East peace while declining to acknowledge a people deprived of basic freedoms and entitlements under decades-long occupation?

The Reality in the West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more evident than in the controlled West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation sound distant and faint, while the frightening sounds of settler violence and terror persist strongly. Over 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the unveiling of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in September's end, including physical assaults, theft of agricultural produce, and torching of vehicles and property.

Targeted Violence During Harvest Season

The increase in violence by colonists is deliberate. This period marks the start of agricultural harvesting. More than a crucial economic event, it represents an significant social and national moment that demonstrates endurance under military rule. Exactly for these reasons, year after year colonists attack Palestinian farmers throughout this crucial time. During the 2024 harvest season, rights groups documented 113 distinct incidents of violence, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or destruction to olive groves and crops by settlers and military personnel, which took place on territories owned by 51 Palestinian communities, towns, and areas.

Israeli security forces seemed to have had a larger part in hindering the olive harvest

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israel's security forces seemed to have played a greater role in obstructing the olive harvest". In about 70% of instances where access to farmland was violently prevented, troops, border guards, and settler civilian security coordinators were actually present. They either personally prevented Palestinians from accessing and gathering their property, or failed to stop colonists who threatened or assaulted them.

Political Backing for Colonization

This comes as no surprise, as the head of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional official in the Defense Ministry in charge of the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a special military coordination team uprooted personally-owned olive trees of Palestinians, claiming missing documentation, but overlooked violations by an unauthorized nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the local court ruled to stop all building work in the outpost, which was constructed on property taken by Israeli authorities and illegally given to settlers.

Annexation Goals and International Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, settler terrorism is nothing but a tool used by the government to pursue de-facto annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich led a procession of thousands of colonists in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as stating, "We are continuing to take hold with our feet of the territory with numerous pioneers, many champions, and hundreds of thousands of settlers who live in this area of the land ... we need to normalise it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their supporters in the Knesset are clear about their intentions and goals. Why, then, do government officials in the Western nations hesitate from meaningful sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was penalized by the United Kingdom in the summer, but the impact of the sanction has been minimal. He may not be able to go to the United Kingdom and tour the West End, but he still maintains the ministerial power to take territories in the West Bank. Even in the declaration of penalties, the UK highlighted they apply "personally" only.

Global Acknowledgment and Actual Situation

If the British administration recognizes the reality of settler violence and its grave implications on Palestinian existence, why does it still allow settlement produce to be marketed in stores and outlets in the UK? If the British leader is serious about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a sovereign entity, how come he permit the Israeli government to violate its independence with such violent means? Or was the recognition an empty tactic to shut down dissenting voices in the UK, a hollow gesture only to be implemented in the relabeling of some maps?

Route Toward Genuine Resolution

A fair peace must honor the basic rights of the Palestinian population for self-determination, independence, and liberty from occupation and siege. Only when every person's worth between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea is honored can we truly declare peace has been attained.

Genuine peace demands an independent Palestinian nation next to the Israeli state: this is the only formula that enjoises agreement among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have applied pressure on Netanyahu to stop the genocide, but he likely only did so because the burden of his connection with the pariah regime of the Israeli PM had become too great. The mass protests across the globe for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering opposition protests inside Israel, are the actual factors behind this pressure.

It is due to this enormous public campaign that a truce has been signed, the hostages released, and the people of Gaza can enjoy safeguard from annihilation. Following the truce arrangement has been finalized, it is vital to keep maintaining this influence. The world has ignored to the violence in Gaza for many years; it must not make the same mistake in the occupied territories.