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Last week, amid a combined address by American leader Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, colleague parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign urging the recognition of Palestine. We were violently ejected from the legislative session, exposing the weak state of what's frequently portrayed as the "only democratic state in the Middle East". How can leaders speak about Middle East peace while declining to acknowledge a population deprived of basic liberties and rights under decades-long occupation?

The Situation in the West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation sound distant and weak, while the terrifying echoes of colonist attacks and terror continue strongly. More than 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been recorded since the announcement of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in late September, featuring attacks, stealing of agricultural produce, and torching of vehicles and belongings.

Targeted Violence During Agricultural Period

The increase in settler terrorism is not coincidental. This period marks the beginning of agricultural harvesting. More than a crucial economic event, it represents an significant social and cultural moment that demonstrates resilience under military rule. Precisely for these causes, annually colonists attack Palestinians during this crucial time. During the last year's agricultural period, human rights organizations documented 113 distinct cases of aggression, harassment, preventing harvesting, or damage to olive trees and produce by settlers and soldiers, which took place on lands owned by 51 Palestinian-owned villages, towns, and areas.

Israeli military appeared to have played a larger part in obstructing the olive harvest

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israeli security forces seemed to have had a greater role in hindering the harvesting season". In about 70% of instances where entry to farmland was violently prevented, soldiers, border police officers, and settlement civilian security coordinators were physically present. They either directly stopped Palestinian farmers from reaching and gathering their own lands, or neglected to stop colonists who harassed or assaulted them.

Political Support for Colonization

This is no surprise, as the leader of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra official in the Ministry of Defence in charge of the territorial coordination unit. In one village, for example, a special military coordination team removed private olive plants of Palestinians, citing missing documentation, but ignored violations by an illegal nearby settler outpost. Last week, the Jerusalem district court ruled to stop all construction in the encampment, which was built on property taken by Israel and illegally given to colonists.

Annexation Ambitions and Global Response

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a instrument used by the administration to pursue de-facto annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich led a march of thousands of colonists in favor of annexation the West Bank. He was reported as stating, "We persist to take hold with our presence of the Land of Israel with numerous settlers, many heroes, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who live in this part of the land ... we must to normalize it and make it eternal."

The settlers and their supporters in the parliament are explicit about their motives and goals. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations refrain from substantial penalties and political actions? Smotrich was penalized by the United Kingdom in June, but the impact of the sanction has been limited. He may not be able to travel to the United Kingdom and tour the West End, but he still enjoys the ministerial power to take territories in the West Bank. Even in the declaration of penalties, the UK highlighted they apply "personally" only.

International Acknowledgment and Reality

If the UK government acknowledges the truth of colonist aggression and its grave consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still allow settlement produce to be sold in markets and outlets in the UK? If Starmer is serious about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a sovereign entity, how come he allow the Israeli government to breach its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the acknowledgment an empty tactic to shut down dissenting voices in the UK, a meaningless gesture only to be realised in the relabeling of some maps?

Pathway to True Resolution

A fair peace must respect the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-determination, sovereignty, and liberty from occupation and siege. Only when each person's worth between the river and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we genuinely declare peace has been achieved.

True peace demands an independent Palestinian state next to the Israeli state: this is the sole solution that has consensus among the international community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace advocates.

Trump may have inflicted pressure on Netanyahu to stop the genocide, but he likely only did so because the burden of his relationship with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become too great. The large demonstrations throughout the globe for the freedom of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering opposition protests inside the country, are the actual factors behind this influence.

It is thanks to this enormous public campaign that a truce has been agreed, the hostages freed, and the residents of the territory can enjoy safeguard from destruction. After the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is vital to keep maintaining this pressure. The international community has ignored to the atrocities in Gaza for many years; it must not repeat the same error in the occupied territories.