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Last week, amid a combined speech by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, fellow lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign calling for the acknowledgment of Palestine. We were violently ejected from the legislative session, exposing the weak state of what's often described as the "sole democratic state in the region". How can officials talk about regional peace while declining to recognize a population denied of basic freedoms and rights under decades-long military control?

The Situation in the West Bank

Nowhere is the deceit more apparent than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation sound remote and faint, while the terrifying echoes of colonist attacks and terror persist loudly. Over 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the announcement of the US 20-point plan in late September, including physical assaults, theft of agricultural produce, and torching of vehicles and belongings.

Targeted Violence During Agricultural Period

The rise in settler terrorism is deliberate. This period marks the beginning of agricultural harvesting. Beyond a vital economic event, it represents an significant social and national occasion that demonstrates resilience under military rule. Precisely for these causes, annually colonists attack Palestinian farmers throughout this crucial time. During the 2024 harvest period, human rights organizations documented 113 distinct cases of aggression, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or destruction to olive groves and produce by Israeli civilians and soldiers, which took place on lands belonging to 51 Palestinian villages, towns, and communities.

Israeli military seemed to have had a larger role in hindering the olive harvest

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israeli security forces appeared to have played a greater role in hindering the harvesting season". In approximately 70% of instances where access to lands was forcibly prevented, troops, border police officers, and settlement civilian security coordinators were physically on site. They either personally stopped Palestinian farmers from accessing and gathering their property, or neglected to stop settlers who harassed or attacked them.

Political Support for Colonization

This is no surprise, as the head of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional official in the Defense Ministry in charge of the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for instance, a particular military coordination team removed private olive plants of local residents, citing missing documentation, but overlooked infractions by an illegal adjacent colonist encampment. Last week, the local court ruled to halt all construction in the outpost, which was built on property seized by Israeli authorities and unlawfully transferred to settlers.

Takeover Goals and International Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a tool used by the administration to achieve practical annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich led a march of thousands of colonists in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as saying, "We are continuing to take hold with our presence of the Land of Israel with numerous settlers, numerous heroes, and countless of colonists who live 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 goals. Why, then, do government officials in the west hesitate from meaningful penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the United Kingdom in June, but the impact of the penalty has been limited. He may not be able to travel to the United Kingdom and visit the London's entertainment district, but he still maintains the governmental authority to seize territories in the West Bank. Even in the announcement of penalties, the UK emphasized they apply "personally" solely.

International Acknowledgment and Reality

If the UK government acknowledges the reality of colonist aggression and its serious 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 recognition of Palestine as a state, how can he permit the Israeli administration to breach its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an empty ploy to shut down opposition in the UK, a meaningless gesture only to be implemented in the rebranding of some maps?

Pathway to Genuine Peace

A just resolution must respect the basic entitlements of the Palestinian population for self-determination, independence, and freedom from military occupation and siege. Only when every person's worth across the river and sea is respected can we genuinely declare reconciliation has been attained.

True resolution requires an independent Palestinian state next to Israel: this is the sole formula that has consensus among the international community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace camp.

The former US president may have applied pressure on Netanyahu to halt the genocide, but he likely only did so because the strain of his connection with the pariah regime of the Israeli PM had become excessive. The mass protests throughout the globe for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the persistent opposition demonstrations within the country, are the actual factors behind this influence.

It is thanks to this massive civil movement that a ceasefire has been agreed, the captives released, and the residents of the territory can enjoy protection from destruction. Following the truce arrangement has been signed, it is crucial to keep maintaining this influence. The world has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in the strip for many years; it must not make the same mistake in the occupied territories.