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Last Monday, 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 sign calling for the recognition of Palestine. We were violently removed from the parliamentary assembly, revealing the weak state of what's often portrayed as the "only democracy in the region". How can leaders talk about regional peace while refusing to recognize a population denied of basic freedoms and entitlements under decades-long occupation?

The Reality in the West Bank

In no place is the deceit more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, words of peace sound remote and faint, while the frightening echoes of settler violence and intimidation continue loudly. More than 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the unveiling of the Trump administration's peace proposal in late September, including attacks, stealing of agricultural produce, and burning of cars and belongings.

Systematic Violence During Agricultural Period

The rise in violence by colonists is not coincidental. This time signals the beginning of agricultural harvesting. Beyond a crucial economic event, it constitutes an important social and national occasion that shows endurance under occupation. Exactly for these reasons, year after year settlers attack Palestinian farmers throughout this precious period. During the 2024 harvest season, human rights organizations documented 113 distinct incidents of violence, harassment, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive groves and crops by settlers and military personnel, which took place on lands belonging to 51 Palestinian-owned communities, municipalities, and areas.

Israel's military seemed to have had a greater part in hindering the olive harvest

Yesh Din also found that "Israel's security forces seemed to have had a greater role in obstructing the harvesting season". In about 70% of instances where entry to farmland was forcibly prevented, soldiers, border police officers, and settler civilian security coordinators were actually present. They either personally stopped Palestinians from reaching and harvesting their own lands, or neglected to prevent colonists who threatened or assaulted them.

Government Backing for Colonization

This is no shock, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional official in the Defense Ministry responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a particular military coordination team uprooted private olive plants of Palestinians, claiming missing documentation, but overlooked infractions by an unauthorized nearby settler outpost. Last week, the local court decided to halt all construction in the outpost, which was built on lands seized by Israel and unlawfully given to settlers.

Takeover Goals and International Response

In the controlled West Bank, settler terrorism is simply a instrument used by the administration to pursue de-facto annexation. Recently, Smotrich led a march of many of settlers in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We are continuing to establish presence with our feet of the territory with many pioneers, many heroes, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who reside in this part of the territory ... we need to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their backers in the parliament are clear about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do government officials in the west refrain from meaningful penalties and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in the summer, but the effect of the penalty has been minimal. He may not be able to go to the UK and tour the West End, but he still enjoys the ministerial power to take lands in the West Bank. Even in the announcement of sanctions, the UK emphasized they apply "personally" solely.

Global Acknowledgment and Actual Situation

If the UK government recognizes the truth of colonist aggression and its grave implications on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit settlement produce to be marketed in stores and shops in the UK? If Starmer is serious about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a sovereign entity, how come he allow the Israeli government to violate its sovereignty with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an hollow tactic to silence opposition in the UK, a hollow gesture only to be realised in the rebranding of some cartographic representations?

Route Toward True Resolution

A just peace must respect the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-determination, sovereignty, and liberty from occupation and blockade. Only when every person's dignity across the Jordan River and sea is respected can we truly say peace has been attained.

True resolution requires an sovereign Palestinian state next to Israel: this is the sole solution that has consensus among the global community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace advocates.

The former US president may have applied pressure on the Israeli leader to halt the genocide, but he likely only did so because the burden of his connection with the pariah regime of the Israeli PM had become too great. The large demonstrations across the globe for the liberation of Palestine, and the persistent anti-government demonstrations within the country, are the actual forces behind this influence.

It is due to this massive public campaign that a ceasefire has been agreed, the hostages freed, and the people of the territory can enjoy protection from annihilation. After the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is crucial to continue applying this influence. The international community has ignored to the atrocities in Gaza for too long; it must not repeat the same error in the West Bank.