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Last Monday, amid a joint speech by US President Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, fellow parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I raised a banner calling for the acknowledgment of the Palestinian state. We were forcibly removed from the legislative session, revealing the fragile condition of what's frequently described as the "only democracy in the region". How can leaders talk about regional peace while refusing to acknowledge a population denied of basic liberties and entitlements under long-standing military control?

The Reality in the Occupied West Bank

In no place is the deceit more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation sound distant and faint, while the terrifying echoes of settler violence and terror continue loudly. Over 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinians have been recorded since the announcement of the US 20-point plan in September's end, including physical assaults, stealing of crops, and burning of vehicles and property.

Systematic Aggression During Harvest Season

The rise in violence by colonists is deliberate. This time signals the beginning of harvest seasons. More than a crucial economic event, it represents an significant social and cultural moment that demonstrates resilience under occupation. Precisely for these causes, year after year colonists attack Palestinian farmers throughout this precious time. During the 2024 harvest season, 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-owned communities, towns, and areas.

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

The human rights group also found that "Israeli military seemed to have had a greater part in hindering the olive harvest". In about 70% of cases where entry to farmland was forcibly blocked, soldiers, border guards, and settler security officials were physically present. They either personally stopped Palestinians from reaching and gathering their property, or failed to prevent colonists who harassed or attacked them.

Government Support for Colonization

This comes as no shock, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra official in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a particular COGAT unit removed private olive plants of local residents, claiming missing documentation, but ignored violations by an unauthorized nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the Jerusalem district court ruled to halt all building work in the encampment, which was constructed on lands seized by Israeli authorities and unlawfully transferred to colonists.

Takeover Goals and Global Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is simply a instrument used by the administration to achieve practical incorporation. Recently, Smotrich led a march of many of settlers in favor of annexation the West Bank. He was reported as saying, "We are continuing to establish presence with our feet of the Land of Israel with many settlers, numerous heroes, and countless of colonists who reside in this area of the land ... we must to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their backers in the Knesset are clear about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the west hesitate from meaningful penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in June, but the effect of the penalty has been limited. He may not be able to travel to the UK and visit the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the ministerial power to seize lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of sanctions, the UK emphasized they take place "personally" only.

Global Recognition and Reality

If the UK government recognizes the truth of settler violence and its grave implications on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit settlement produce to be marketed in stores and outlets in Britain? If Starmer is serious about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a sovereign entity, how can he permit the Israeli administration to breach its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the recognition an hollow ploy to silence dissenting voices in the United Kingdom, a meaningless gesture only to be realised in the rebranding of some maps?

Pathway to Genuine Resolution

A just resolution must respect the basic entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-determination, sovereignty, and liberty from occupation and blockade. Only when each human being's worth across the Jordan River and sea is honored can we genuinely declare peace has been achieved.

Genuine peace requires an sovereign Palestinian nation next to the Israeli state: this is the sole formula that has agreement among the international 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 connection with the pariah regime of the Israeli PM had become excessive. The mass protests across the globe for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering anti-government demonstrations within the country, are the real factors behind this pressure.

It is thanks to this enormous public campaign that a ceasefire has been signed, the captives released, and the residents of the territory can experience protection from destruction. Following the truce arrangement has been finalized, it is crucial to keep maintaining this influence. The world has ignored to the atrocities in the strip for many years; it must not repeat the same error in the occupied territories.