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Last week, amid a joint address by American leader Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, colleague parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner urging the recognition of Palestine. We were forcibly ejected from the legislative assembly, revealing the weak condition of what's frequently described as the "sole democratic state in the Middle East". How can officials talk about regional peace while declining to acknowledge a population deprived of basic liberties and rights under long-standing occupation?

The Situation in the West Bank

Nowhere is the hypocrisy more apparent than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of peace seem remote and faint, while the frightening echoes of settler violence and intimidation persist loudly. More than 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been documented since the announcement of the Trump administration's peace proposal in late September, featuring attacks, stealing of crops, and burning of vehicles and property.

Systematic Violence During Agricultural Period

The increase in settler terrorism is deliberate. This time marks the beginning of harvest seasons. More than a crucial economic activity, it constitutes an significant communal and cultural occasion that demonstrates endurance under occupation. Exactly for these reasons, annually settlers attack Palestinian farmers throughout this precious period. During the 2024 harvest period, human rights organizations documented 113 separate cases of violence, harassment, preventing harvesting, or damage to olive groves and produce involving Israeli civilians and military personnel, which occurred on territories belonging to 51 Palestinian villages, municipalities, and areas.

Israel's military appeared to have had a greater role in obstructing the olive harvest

The human rights group also found that "Israel's military seemed to have had a larger role in hindering the olive harvest". In about 70% of instances where access to farmland was violently prevented, troops, border guards, and settler security officials were physically present. They either directly prevented Palestinians from accessing and harvesting their property, or neglected to stop colonists who harassed or assaulted them.

Government Backing 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 Ministry of Defence responsible for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In one village, for example, a particular COGAT unit uprooted private olive trees of local residents, claiming missing documentation, but ignored infractions by an illegal nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the Jerusalem district court ruled to halt all construction in the outpost, which was constructed on property seized by Israeli authorities and unlawfully transferred to settlers.

Annexation Ambitions and Global Response

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a tool used by the administration to achieve practical annexation. Recently, Smotrich led a march of thousands of settlers in support of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as saying, "We persist to establish presence with our feet of the Land of Israel with many pioneers, numerous champions, and hundreds of thousands of settlers who reside in this part of the land ... we must to normalise it and make it eternal."

The settlers and their supporters in the parliament are explicit about their motives and goals. Why, then, do government officials in the west refrain from meaningful sanctions and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in the summer, but the impact of the sanction has been limited. He may not be permitted to travel to the United Kingdom and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the governmental authority to take territories in the West Bank. Even in the announcement of sanctions, the British government emphasized they apply "in his personal capacity" only.

International Recognition and Actual Situation

If the British administration recognizes the truth of settler violence and its grave implications on Palestinian life, why does it still allow settlement produce to be sold in stores and outlets in the UK? If the British leader is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a sovereign entity, how can he permit the Israeli administration to breach its sovereignty with such aggressive methods? Or was the acknowledgment an empty tactic to silence opposition in the UK, a hollow gesture only to be realised in the rebranding of some maps?

Route Toward Genuine Peace

A fair resolution must honor the basic entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-recognition, sovereignty, and liberty from occupation and blockade. Only when every human being's dignity across the river and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we genuinely declare reconciliation has been attained.

Genuine peace demands an independent Palestinian nation next to the Israeli state: this is the sole formula that enjoises agreement among the global community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace advocates.

Trump may have applied pressure on Netanyahu to halt the genocide, but he probably only did so because the burden of his connection with the isolated government of the Israeli PM had become too great. The large demonstrations throughout the globe for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the persistent opposition protests within Israel, are the actual factors behind this influence.

It is thanks to this enormous public campaign that a ceasefire has been agreed, the hostages released, and the residents of the territory can enjoy protection from annihilation. Following the truce arrangement has been finalized, it is vital to continue maintaining this influence. The international community has turned a blind eye to the violence in the strip for too long; it must not repeat the same error in the occupied territories.