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Last Monday, amid a joint address by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, fellow lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I raised a banner calling for the recognition of Palestine. We were violently removed from the legislative session, revealing the weak state of what's often described as the "only democratic state in the Middle East". How can officials talk about Middle East peace while refusing to recognize a people denied of basic liberties and entitlements under long-standing occupation?

The Situation in the Occupied West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation sound remote and faint, while the terrifying echoes of colonist attacks and intimidation persist loudly. More than 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been documented since the unveiling of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in September's end, including attacks, theft of crops, and torching of cars and belongings.

Targeted Violence During Harvest Season

The increase in violence by colonists is deliberate. This time marks the beginning of harvest seasons. Beyond a crucial economic activity, it represents an important communal and national moment that demonstrates resilience under military rule. Exactly for these reasons, annually settlers target Palestinian farmers throughout this crucial period. During the 2024 harvest period, rights groups documented 113 distinct incidents of aggression, harassment, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive trees and produce involving settlers and military personnel, which took place on territories owned by 51 Palestinian communities, towns, and communities.

Israel's security forces appeared to have played a larger part in obstructing the harvesting season

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israel's military seemed to have played a greater part in hindering the harvesting season". In approximately 70% of instances where access to farmland was violently prevented, soldiers, border police officers, and settler civilian security coordinators were actually on site. They either directly prevented Palestinians from reaching and harvesting their property, or neglected to prevent settlers who threatened or attacked them.

Political Support for Settler Activities

This is no surprise, as the leader of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra minister in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a particular military coordination team uprooted private olive trees of Palestinians, citing lack of permits, but ignored violations by an unauthorized adjacent colonist encampment. Last week, the local court ruled to stop all building work in the encampment, which was constructed on property seized by Israeli authorities and illegally transferred to settlers.

Takeover Goals and Global Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a instrument used by the administration to pursue practical annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich led a procession of many of settlers in support of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as saying, "We persist to take hold with our feet of the Land of Israel with numerous settlers, many heroes, and countless of colonists who reside in this area of the land ... we must to normalize it and make it eternal."

The colonists and their backers in the parliament are clear about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do government officials in the west hesitate from meaningful sanctions and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the United Kingdom in the summer, but the impact of the penalty has been limited. He may not be able to go to the United Kingdom and visit the West End, but he still maintains the ministerial power to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of penalties, the UK highlighted they apply "in his personal capacity" only.

Global Acknowledgment and Actual Situation

If the British administration recognizes the reality of settler violence and its serious consequences on Palestinian life, why does it still permit settlement produce to be sold in markets and outlets in Britain? If the British leader is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how come he allow the Israeli government to breach its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the recognition an hollow ploy to shut down dissenting voices in the United Kingdom, a meaningless act only to be implemented in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Route Toward True Peace

A just peace must honor the basic rights of the Palestinian people for self-determination, independence, and liberty from occupation and siege. Only when each person's worth between the Jordan River and sea is respected can we genuinely declare reconciliation has been attained.

Genuine resolution requires an sovereign Palestinian nation alongside Israel: this is the sole solution that enjoises agreement 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 likely only did so because the burden of his relationship with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become too great. The mass protests across the globe for the liberation of Palestine, and the unwavering opposition demonstrations within Israel, are the actual forces behind this influence.

It is thanks to this enormous public campaign that a ceasefire has been agreed, the hostages released, and the residents of Gaza can experience protection from destruction. Following the truce arrangement has been signed, it is crucial to continue applying this pressure. The world has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in the strip for many years; it must not repeat the same error in the West Bank.