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Last Monday, during a joint speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, fellow parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign calling for the recognition of Palestine. We were violently removed from the parliamentary assembly, exposing the fragile state of what's frequently described as the "sole democratic state in the region". How can officials talk about Middle East peace while declining to recognize a population denied of fundamental liberties and rights under long-standing occupation?

The Reality in the West Bank

Nowhere is the deceit more evident than in the controlled West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation seem distant and faint, while the terrifying sounds of colonist attacks and intimidation continue loudly. More than 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been recorded since the unveiling of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in September's end, including physical assaults, theft of agricultural produce, and burning of vehicles and property.

Targeted Aggression During Harvest Season

The rise in violence by colonists is deliberate. This time marks the start of harvest seasons. Beyond a crucial economic event, it represents an significant social and cultural moment that shows endurance under occupation. Precisely for these reasons, year after year settlers attack Palestinian farmers throughout this crucial period. During the 2024 harvest season, human rights organizations recorded 113 distinct cases of violence, harassment, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive trees and crops by settlers and military personnel, which took place on territories belonging to 51 Palestinian-owned villages, towns, and areas.

Israel's security forces seemed to have played a larger part in obstructing the olive harvest

The human rights group also discovered that "Israeli security forces appeared to have played a greater role in obstructing the harvesting season". In approximately 70% of instances where access to lands was violently blocked, troops, border guards, and settler security officials were actually on site. They either personally prevented Palestinians from reaching and gathering their own lands, or failed to stop settlers who threatened or attacked them.

Government Backing for Settler Activities

This is no shock, 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 special COGAT unit removed personally-owned olive trees of local residents, claiming lack of permits, but ignored infractions by an illegal nearby settler outpost. Last week, the Jerusalem district court ruled to stop all construction in the encampment, which was constructed on lands taken by Israel and illegally transferred to colonists.

Annexation Ambitions and International Response

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is simply a instrument used by the government to pursue de-facto annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich headed a march of many of settlers in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We persist to establish presence with our presence of the Land of Israel with many pioneers, many champions, and countless of colonists who reside in this part of the territory ... we must to normalize it and make it eternal."

The colonists and their supporters in the parliament are clear about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations hesitate from substantial sanctions and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in June, but the effect of the sanction has been limited. He may not be able to travel to the United Kingdom and visit the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the governmental authority to seize lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of sanctions, the UK emphasized they take place "in his personal capacity" only.

International Acknowledgment and Reality

If the UK government acknowledges the truth of settler violence and its serious implications on Palestinian life, why does it still allow 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 can he permit the Israeli administration to breach its sovereignty with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an empty ploy to shut down opposition in the United Kingdom, a meaningless gesture only to be realised in the rebranding of some maps?

Pathway to True Peace

A fair peace must respect the basic rights of the Palestinian population for self-determination, sovereignty, and freedom from occupation and blockade. Only when every person's dignity between the river and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we genuinely declare reconciliation has been achieved.

Genuine peace demands an sovereign Palestinian state next to the Israeli state: this is the sole solution that enjoises consensus among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace advocates.

The former US president may have inflicted influence on the Israeli leader to stop the genocide, but he likely only did so because the burden of his relationship with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become excessive. The large demonstrations throughout the globe for the liberation of Palestine, and the persistent anti-government demonstrations inside the country, are the real factors behind this influence.

It is due to this massive public campaign that a truce has been agreed, the captives released, and the residents of Gaza can experience safeguard from annihilation. Following the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is crucial to keep applying this pressure. The international community has turned a blind eye to the violence in the strip for too long; it must not make the same error in the West Bank.