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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 banner urging the acknowledgment of Palestine. We were forcibly ejected from the legislative session, exposing the weak condition of what's frequently described as the "sole democratic state in the region". How can officials talk about Middle East peace while declining to acknowledge a people deprived of fundamental freedoms and entitlements under decades-long military control?

The Situation in the West Bank

In no place is the deceit more evident than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of peace seem remote and faint, while the terrifying echoes of colonist attacks and terror persist strongly. More than 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinians have been recorded since the unveiling of the Trump administration's peace proposal in late September, featuring physical assaults, stealing of agricultural produce, and burning of vehicles and property.

Systematic Aggression During Agricultural Period

The increase in violence by colonists is not coincidental. This time marks the start of agricultural harvesting. More than a crucial economic event, it constitutes an important social and cultural occasion that demonstrates resilience under military rule. Exactly for these reasons, annually colonists attack Palestinians during this crucial period. During the 2024 harvest season, rights groups recorded 113 distinct cases of violence, harassment, harvest-thwarting, or destruction to olive groves and crops involving Israeli civilians and military personnel, which took place on territories belonging to 51 Palestinian-owned villages, towns, and areas.

Israel's military appeared to have had a greater part in obstructing the olive harvest

The human rights group also discovered that "Israeli military seemed to have played a greater role in hindering the olive harvest". In about 70% of cases where entry to lands was forcibly blocked, troops, border police officers, and settlement security officials were actually present. They either directly stopped Palestinians from reaching and harvesting their property, or failed to stop colonists who threatened or assaulted them.

Political Support for Settler Activities

This is no surprise, as the leader of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional official in the Defense Ministry in charge of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In one village, for instance, a particular military coordination team removed personally-owned olive plants of Palestinians, claiming missing documentation, but overlooked violations by an illegal nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the local court decided to stop all building work in the outpost, which was constructed on property taken by Israeli authorities and illegally transferred to settlers.

Takeover Goals and International Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, settler terrorism is simply a tool used by the administration to achieve practical incorporation. Recently, Smotrich headed a procession of thousands of colonists in support of annexation the West Bank. He was reported as stating, "We persist to establish presence with our feet of the territory with many pioneers, many heroes, and hundreds of thousands of settlers who reside in this area of the land ... we must to normalise it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their supporters in the parliament are explicit about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the west hesitate from meaningful penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in June, but the effect of the sanction 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 penalties, the British government emphasized they apply "personally" solely.

International Recognition and Reality

If the UK government acknowledges the reality of settler violence and its serious consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit settlement produce to be marketed in stores and outlets in the UK? If the British leader is serious about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how come he permit the Israeli government to violate its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the recognition an hollow ploy to silence opposition in the United Kingdom, a meaningless act only to be realised in the rebranding of some maps?

Route Toward True Peace

A fair peace must honor the fundamental rights of the Palestinian population for self-recognition, independence, and liberty from occupation and siege. Only when every person's worth between the river and sea is honored can we truly say reconciliation has been achieved.

True peace demands an independent Palestinian state alongside the Israeli state: this is the sole formula that enjoises consensus among the global community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace advocates.

The former US president may have inflicted influence on Netanyahu to halt the violence, but he probably only did so because the burden of his relationship with the isolated government of the Israeli PM had become excessive. The large demonstrations throughout the world for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering anti-government protests within Israel, are the real forces behind this pressure.

It is due to this enormous public campaign that a truce has been agreed, the captives freed, and the people of Gaza can experience safeguard from destruction. Following the truce arrangement has been finalized, it is crucial to keep applying this pressure. The world has ignored to the violence in Gaza for many years; it must not repeat the same mistake in the occupied territories.