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Last week, amid a combined address by US President Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, colleague parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign calling for the acknowledgment of Palestine. We were violently ejected from the legislative session, exposing the weak condition of what's frequently portrayed as the "only democracy in the region". How can officials speak about Middle East peace while declining to acknowledge a people deprived of basic freedoms and entitlements under long-standing occupation?

The Situation in the West Bank

In no place is the deceit more evident than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of reconciliation sound distant and weak, while the terrifying sounds of settler violence and terror continue loudly. More than 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been documented since the announcement of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in September's end, featuring physical assaults, theft of agricultural produce, and burning of cars and belongings.

Targeted Violence During Harvest Season

The increase in violence by colonists is deliberate. This period signals the beginning of harvest seasons. Beyond a crucial economic activity, it constitutes an significant social and cultural occasion that shows resilience under military rule. Precisely for these reasons, annually settlers attack Palestinian farmers during this precious time. During the last year's agricultural period, rights groups recorded 113 separate cases of violence, intimidation, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive groves and produce by Israeli civilians and military personnel, which occurred on lands owned by 51 Palestinian-owned communities, towns, and areas.

Israeli military appeared to have had a greater role in hindering the harvesting season

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israel's military seemed to have had a greater role in hindering the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of instances where entry to lands was forcibly prevented, soldiers, border police officers, and settlement security officials were physically on site. They either directly stopped Palestinian farmers from reaching and gathering their property, or neglected to stop settlers who harassed or attacked them.

Political Support for Colonization

This comes as no surprise, as the head of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an extra minister in the Defense Ministry responsible for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In one village, for instance, a special COGAT unit removed personally-owned olive plants of local residents, citing lack of permits, but ignored infractions by an unauthorized nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the Jerusalem district court decided to halt all building work in the encampment, which was built on lands seized by Israel and unlawfully given to colonists.

Annexation Goals and International Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is simply a tool used by the government to pursue de-facto incorporation. Recently, Smotrich led a procession of thousands of settlers in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as saying, "We persist to establish presence with our presence of the Land of Israel with many settlers, many champions, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who reside in this area of the territory ... we must to normalize it and make it eternal."

The colonists and their supporters in the parliament are clear about their intentions and goals. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations hesitate from substantial sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in the summer, but the impact of the penalty has been limited. He may not be able to travel to the United Kingdom and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the governmental authority to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of penalties, the British government highlighted they take place "personally" solely.

International Acknowledgment and Reality

If the British administration recognizes the truth of settler violence and its grave consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit goods from settlements to be sold in stores and outlets in the UK? If Starmer is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how can he allow the Israeli government to breach its independence with such violent means? Or was the acknowledgment an empty tactic to silence opposition in the United Kingdom, a hollow gesture only to be implemented in the rebranding of some maps?

Route Toward Genuine Peace

A fair peace must honor the basic rights of the Palestinian population for self-recognition, sovereignty, and freedom from occupation and blockade. Only when each person's dignity across the river and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we truly declare reconciliation has been achieved.

Genuine peace requires an sovereign Palestinian nation alongside the Israeli state: this is the sole solution that enjoises agreement among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace advocates.

The former US president may have inflicted influence on Netanyahu to stop the genocide, but he probably only did so because the strain of his connection with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become excessive. The large demonstrations across the world for the freedom of Palestinian territories, and the persistent opposition demonstrations inside Israel, are the real factors behind this pressure.

It is thanks to this enormous public campaign that a truce has been signed, the captives freed, and the residents of the territory can experience safeguard from annihilation. After the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is vital to continue maintaining this pressure. The world has ignored to the violence in the strip for many years; it must not repeat the same mistake in the West Bank.