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Last week, amid a joint 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 legislative session, revealing the weak condition of what's frequently described as the "only democracy in the Middle East". How can officials talk about regional peace while refusing to acknowledge a people deprived of basic freedoms and rights under decades-long occupation?

The Situation in the West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more evident than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of reconciliation sound distant and faint, while the terrifying sounds of settler violence and intimidation continue strongly. More than 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the unveiling of the US peace proposal in September's end, featuring attacks, theft of agricultural produce, and burning of vehicles and belongings.

Targeted Violence During Agricultural Period

The rise in settler terrorism is not coincidental. This period signals the start of agricultural harvesting. More than a crucial economic activity, it constitutes an significant communal and cultural moment that shows resilience under military rule. Precisely for these causes, annually colonists target Palestinian farmers during this precious time. During the 2024 harvest season, rights groups recorded 113 separate cases of aggression, harassment, preventing harvesting, or damage to olive groves and produce involving Israeli civilians and military personnel, which occurred on lands belonging to 51 Palestinian communities, towns, and areas.

Israel's security forces appeared to have played a greater role in hindering the harvesting season

The human rights group also found that "Israel's security forces appeared to have had a greater role in obstructing the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of instances where access to lands was forcibly blocked, troops, border guards, and settler civilian security coordinators were actually present. They either directly stopped Palestinians from reaching and gathering their own lands, or failed to stop settlers who threatened or attacked them.

Government Support for Colonization

This comes as no shock, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an additional official in the Ministry of Defence in charge of the territorial coordination unit. In one village, for example, a particular COGAT unit removed personally-owned olive trees of local residents, claiming lack of permits, but overlooked infractions by an unauthorized nearby settler outpost. Last week, the Jerusalem district court decided to stop all building work in the encampment, which was built on property seized by Israeli authorities and illegally transferred to colonists.

Takeover Ambitions and Global Response

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a tool used by the administration to pursue practical annexation. Recently, Smotrich headed a march of many 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 Land of Israel with numerous pioneers, many heroes, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who live in this part of the territory ... we must to normalise it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their backers in the parliament are explicit about their intentions and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the west refrain from meaningful penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the United Kingdom in the summer, but the effect of the sanction has been minimal. He may not be able to travel to the United Kingdom and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still maintains the ministerial power to take territories in the West Bank. Even in the declaration of penalties, the British government highlighted they take place "personally" only.

Global Recognition and Reality

If the British administration acknowledges the truth of colonist aggression and its serious implications on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit settlement produce to be sold in stores and shops in Britain? If Starmer is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how can he allow the Israeli administration to breach its independence with such violent means? Or was the recognition an hollow tactic to silence opposition in the UK, a meaningless gesture only to be implemented in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to Genuine Resolution

A just peace must respect the basic rights of the Palestinian people for self-recognition, independence, and liberty from occupation and siege. Only when every human being's worth across the river and sea is respected can we genuinely declare peace has been attained.

True resolution requires an sovereign Palestinian nation next to the Israeli state: this is the sole solution that enjoises agreement among the global community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace camp.

The former US president may have applied influence on Netanyahu to stop the violence, but he probably only did so because the burden of his relationship with the isolated government of the Israeli PM had become too great. The mass protests throughout the globe for the freedom of Palestine, and the persistent opposition demonstrations inside the country, are the real factors behind this influence.

It is due to this massive civil movement that a truce has been agreed, the hostages freed, and the people of Gaza can experience protection from annihilation. Following the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is crucial to continue maintaining this pressure. The international community has turned a blind eye to the violence in Gaza for too long; it must not make the same error in the West Bank.