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Last Monday, amid a combined address by American leader Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, fellow lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign urging the recognition of Palestine. We were violently ejected from the legislative assembly, exposing the fragile condition of what's frequently portrayed as the "sole democracy in the Middle East". How can leaders speak about regional peace while refusing to recognize a people deprived of fundamental freedoms and entitlements under long-standing occupation?

The Situation in the West Bank

Nowhere is the hypocrisy more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation seem distant and weak, while the terrifying sounds of colonist attacks and intimidation continue loudly. Over 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the unveiling of the US peace proposal in late September, including attacks, theft of agricultural produce, and burning of vehicles and property.

Targeted Violence During Agricultural Period

The rise in violence by colonists is not coincidental. This time marks the beginning of harvest seasons. More than a vital economic event, it constitutes an significant social and cultural occasion that shows endurance under occupation. Exactly for these causes, year after year colonists attack Palestinians throughout this crucial period. During the 2024 harvest season, rights groups recorded 113 distinct incidents of aggression, intimidation, preventing harvesting, or damage to olive trees and crops by settlers and soldiers, which took place on territories belonging to 51 Palestinian-owned communities, municipalities, and communities.

Israeli military seemed to have had a greater part in hindering the olive harvest

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israel's security forces appeared to have had a larger part in obstructing the harvesting season". In approximately 70% of instances where access to lands was violently blocked, soldiers, border guards, and settler civilian security coordinators were actually on site. They either personally stopped Palestinians from accessing and harvesting their own lands, or neglected to prevent colonists who threatened or attacked them.

Political Support for Settler Activities

This comes as no surprise, as the leader of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an extra minister in the Defense Ministry in charge of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a particular military coordination team removed personally-owned olive trees of Palestinians, claiming lack of permits, but ignored infractions by an unauthorized adjacent settler outpost. Last week, the local court decided to halt all construction in the encampment, which was constructed on lands taken by Israeli authorities and illegally given to colonists.

Takeover Ambitions and Global Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, settler terrorism is simply a instrument used by the government to pursue practical annexation. Recently, Smotrich headed a procession of many of settlers in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We are continuing to establish presence with our presence of the territory with numerous pioneers, many champions, and hundreds of thousands of settlers who reside in this part of the territory ... we must to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their supporters in the Knesset are explicit about their motives and goals. Why, then, do government officials in the Western nations refrain from substantial penalties and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in the summer, but the impact of the penalty has been minimal. He may not be able to travel to the United Kingdom and tour the West End, but he still enjoys the governmental authority to seize territories in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of penalties, the British government emphasized they take place "personally" solely.

International Recognition and Actual Situation

If the British administration recognizes the reality of colonist aggression and its serious implications 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 state, how come he allow the Israeli administration to violate its independence with such violent means? Or was the acknowledgment an empty ploy to shut down dissenting voices in the UK, a hollow act only to be implemented in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to True Peace

A just peace must honor the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian population for self-recognition, sovereignty, and liberty from occupation and blockade. Only when every human being's worth between the Jordan River and sea is respected can we truly say peace has been achieved.

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

Trump may have applied pressure on the Israeli leader to halt the violence, but he probably only did so because the burden of his relationship with the pariah regime of the Israeli PM had become too great. The large demonstrations across the world for the liberation of Palestine, and the persistent opposition demonstrations within the country, are the actual forces behind this pressure.

It is thanks to this massive civil movement that a ceasefire has been agreed, the hostages released, and the residents of Gaza can experience safeguard from annihilation. After the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is vital to keep applying this pressure. The world has turned a blind eye to the violence in the strip for many years; it must not make the same error in the occupied territories.