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Last Monday, during a joint speech by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, fellow lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I raised a banner urging the acknowledgment of Palestine. We were violently ejected from the legislative session, exposing the weak condition of what's frequently portrayed as the "only democratic state in the region". How can leaders speak about Middle East peace while declining to recognize a population deprived of fundamental liberties and rights under decades-long military control?

The Situation in the West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more apparent than in the controlled West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation seem remote and faint, while the terrifying sounds of colonist attacks and intimidation persist loudly. Over 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been documented since the announcement of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in September's end, including attacks, theft of crops, and torching of cars and property.

Targeted Aggression During Harvest Season

The increase in violence by colonists is deliberate. This time signals the beginning of agricultural harvesting. Beyond a crucial economic event, it represents an important communal and national moment that demonstrates endurance under occupation. Exactly for these causes, year after year settlers attack Palestinians during this crucial time. During the 2024 harvest season, rights groups documented 113 distinct incidents of aggression, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or damage to olive trees and produce involving Israeli civilians and military personnel, which took place on territories belonging to 51 Palestinian communities, towns, and areas.

Israel's security forces appeared to have had a larger role in hindering the harvesting season

The human rights group also discovered that "Israeli military appeared to have played a larger role in hindering the olive harvest". In about 70% of cases where entry to lands was violently blocked, troops, border police officers, and settlement security officials were actually on site. They either directly stopped Palestinian farmers from reaching and gathering their own lands, or neglected to prevent settlers who threatened or attacked them.

Political Support for Settler Activities

This is no surprise, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an additional official in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a particular military coordination team removed private olive trees of local residents, claiming missing documentation, but ignored infractions by an unauthorized nearby settler outpost. Last week, the local court decided to halt all building work in the outpost, which was constructed on lands taken by Israeli authorities and unlawfully given to colonists.

Takeover Goals and Global Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, settler terrorism is simply a instrument used by the government to achieve de-facto incorporation. Recently, Smotrich led a procession of many of settlers in support of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as saying, "We persist to establish presence with our feet of the territory with many pioneers, many heroes, and countless of settlers who live in this area of the land ... we need to normalise it and make it eternal."

The colonists and their backers in the parliament are clear about their intentions and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the west refrain from meaningful sanctions and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in the summer, but the impact of the penalty has been limited. He may not be permitted to go to the UK and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the governmental authority to take territories in the West Bank. Even in the declaration of penalties, the British government highlighted they apply "personally" solely.

International Acknowledgment and Actual Situation

If the British administration acknowledges the reality of colonist aggression and its serious consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit goods from settlements to be marketed in stores and shops in the UK? If the British leader is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how come he permit the Israeli administration to violate its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an hollow ploy to shut down dissenting voices in the United Kingdom, a hollow gesture only to be realised in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Route Toward Genuine Peace

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

Genuine resolution requires an sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel: this is the only formula that has agreement among the global community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have applied pressure on the Israeli leader to halt the violence, but he probably only did so because the strain of his connection with the isolated government of the Israeli PM had become excessive. The large demonstrations across the globe for the liberation of Palestine, and the persistent anti-government protests within the country, are the real factors behind this pressure.

It is thanks to this enormous civil movement that a truce has been signed, the hostages freed, and the residents of Gaza can experience protection from annihilation. After the truce arrangement has been finalized, it is crucial to continue applying this influence. The world has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in the strip for too long; it must not make the same mistake in the occupied territories.