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Last week, amid a combined speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, colleague parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner urging the recognition of Palestine. We were forcibly ejected from the legislative assembly, revealing the weak condition of what's frequently described as the "sole democratic state in the region". How can officials talk about regional peace while declining to recognize a people denied of basic liberties and rights under decades-long military control?

The Situation in the West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, words of peace seem distant and weak, while the frightening echoes of settler violence and intimidation persist strongly. More than 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinians have been documented since the announcement of the US 20-point plan in late September, featuring attacks, stealing of agricultural produce, and torching of cars and property.

Systematic Violence During Harvest Season

The increase in violence by colonists is deliberate. This period marks the beginning of harvest seasons. More than a vital economic event, it constitutes an significant communal and national moment that shows endurance under occupation. Precisely for these causes, annually colonists attack Palestinian farmers during this crucial period. During the 2024 harvest period, rights groups documented 113 separate incidents of violence, harassment, harvest-thwarting, or damage to olive groves and crops involving Israeli civilians and military personnel, which took place on territories owned by 51 Palestinian-owned villages, towns, and areas.

Israeli military appeared to have played a greater part in obstructing the harvesting season

The human rights group also discovered that "Israeli military appeared to have played a greater role in hindering the harvesting season". In about 70% of cases where entry to farmland was violently prevented, soldiers, border police officers, and settler security officials were actually on site. They either directly stopped Palestinians from reaching and gathering their property, or failed to prevent colonists who harassed or assaulted them.

Government Backing for Colonization

This comes as no surprise, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional minister in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for instance, a special military coordination team uprooted personally-owned olive plants of Palestinians, claiming missing documentation, but overlooked violations by an unauthorized adjacent settler outpost. Last week, the local court ruled to stop all construction in the encampment, which was built on lands taken by Israeli authorities and illegally given to settlers.

Annexation Ambitions and Global Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, settler terrorism is nothing but a instrument used by the administration to achieve practical incorporation. Recently, Smotrich led a procession of thousands of settlers 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 many settlers, numerous champions, and countless of colonists who reside in this part of the territory ... we must to normalise it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their backers in the parliament are clear about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do government officials in the west hesitate from meaningful sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in the summer, but the impact of the penalty has been minimal. He may not be permitted to travel to the United Kingdom and tour the West End, but he still enjoys the governmental authority to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of penalties, the British government emphasized they apply "personally" only.

International Acknowledgment and Actual Situation

If the British administration recognizes the reality of colonist aggression and its serious consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still allow goods from settlements to be marketed in stores and outlets in Britain? If Starmer is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a state, how can he allow the Israeli government to violate its sovereignty with such aggressive methods? Or was the acknowledgment an hollow ploy to silence dissenting voices in the UK, a meaningless gesture only to be implemented in the rebranding of some maps?

Pathway to Genuine Peace

A just peace must respect the basic rights of the Palestinian population for self-recognition, independence, and freedom from military occupation and blockade. Only when every human being's worth across the river and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we genuinely say peace has been achieved.

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

Trump may have inflicted influence on the Israeli leader to halt the genocide, but he probably only did so because the burden of his relationship with the isolated government of the Israeli PM had become too great. The mass protests throughout the globe for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering anti-government protests within the country, are the real forces behind this influence.

It is thanks to this enormous public campaign that a truce has been signed, the captives released, and the residents of Gaza can enjoy protection from destruction. After the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is vital to continue maintaining this pressure. The international community has turned a blind eye to the violence in Gaza for too long; it must not repeat the same mistake in the occupied territories.