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Last Monday, during a joint speech by US President Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, fellow parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign calling for the acknowledgment of the Palestinian state. We were violently removed from the legislative assembly, exposing the weak condition of what's often portrayed as the "only democracy in the region". How can officials talk about Middle East peace while refusing to recognize a population deprived of fundamental liberties and entitlements under decades-long occupation?

The Situation in the Occupied West Bank

Nowhere is the deceit more apparent than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of reconciliation seem distant and faint, while the terrifying sounds of colonist attacks and intimidation continue loudly. More than 30 incidents of settler aggression against Palestinians have been recorded since the announcement of the US peace proposal in September's end, including attacks, stealing of agricultural produce, and burning of vehicles and belongings.

Targeted Violence During Harvest Season

The increase in settler terrorism is deliberate. This period signals the start of agricultural harvesting. Beyond a crucial economic event, it represents an significant communal and national occasion that demonstrates endurance under military rule. Precisely for these causes, annually colonists target Palestinians during this precious period. During the 2024 harvest period, rights groups documented 113 distinct incidents of violence, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or damage to olive groves and crops involving settlers and military personnel, which took place on lands belonging to 51 Palestinian communities, municipalities, and areas.

Israel's military seemed to have played a larger role in obstructing the olive harvest

The human rights group also discovered that "Israeli security forces appeared to have played a greater part in obstructing the harvesting season". In about 70% of instances where entry to lands was forcibly prevented, soldiers, border police officers, and settler security officials were actually on site. They either personally stopped Palestinians from reaching and harvesting their property, or neglected to stop colonists who threatened or attacked them.

Political Backing for Colonization

This is no surprise, as the leader of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra minister in the Defense Ministry in charge of the territorial coordination unit. In one village, for instance, a special military coordination team removed private olive trees of Palestinians, claiming lack of permits, but overlooked infractions by an unauthorized nearby settler outpost. Last week, the Jerusalem district court ruled to stop all construction in the encampment, which was constructed on lands taken by Israel and illegally transferred to colonists.

Takeover Goals and Global Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a instrument used by the administration to achieve practical incorporation. Earlier this month, Smotrich headed a march of many of colonists in support of annexation the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We persist to take hold with our presence of the territory with many settlers, numerous champions, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who reside in this area of the territory ... we need to normalize it and make it eternal."

The colonists and their backers in the parliament are explicit about their intentions and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the west hesitate from substantial penalties and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in June, but the impact of the penalty has been minimal. He may not be permitted to go to the UK and tour the West End, but he still enjoys the ministerial power to take lands in the West Bank. Even in the declaration of sanctions, the UK emphasized they take place "in his personal capacity" only.

Global Recognition and Actual Situation

If the British administration recognizes the reality of colonist aggression and its grave consequences on Palestinian life, why does it still allow goods from settlements to be marketed in stores and outlets in the UK? If the British leader is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how come he allow the Israeli administration to breach its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the recognition an hollow tactic to silence dissenting voices in the United Kingdom, a hollow act only to be implemented in the rebranding of some cartographic representations?

Route Toward True Peace

A fair peace must respect the basic rights of the Palestinian population for self-determination, independence, and liberty from occupation and siege. Only when every human being's dignity between the river and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we genuinely declare reconciliation has been attained.

True resolution requires an sovereign Palestinian state next to the Israeli state: this is the only solution that enjoises agreement among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have inflicted influence on Netanyahu to halt the violence, but he likely only did so because the strain of his connection with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become too great. The large demonstrations across the globe for the freedom of Palestinian territories, and the persistent opposition demonstrations within the country, are the real factors behind this pressure.

It is thanks to this massive civil movement that a ceasefire has been signed, the captives released, and the people of Gaza can experience safeguard from destruction. After the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is crucial to continue maintaining this influence. The international community has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in Gaza for too long; it must not repeat the same mistake in the occupied territories.