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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 banner urging the recognition of the Palestinian state. We were forcibly removed from the legislative session, revealing the fragile state of what's frequently described as the "sole democracy in the Middle East". How can officials speak about Middle East peace while refusing to acknowledge a people denied of fundamental liberties and entitlements under decades-long occupation?

The Reality in the West Bank

Nowhere is the deceit more apparent than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of peace seem remote and faint, while the terrifying echoes of colonist attacks and intimidation continue loudly. Over 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the unveiling of the US peace proposal in September's end, featuring physical assaults, stealing of agricultural produce, and torching of cars and property.

Targeted Violence During Harvest Season

The rise in settler terrorism is not coincidental. This period signals the start of harvest seasons. Beyond a crucial economic activity, it constitutes an important communal and national occasion that shows endurance under military rule. Exactly for these causes, year after year settlers target Palestinian farmers during this crucial time. During the last year's agricultural period, human rights organizations recorded 113 separate incidents of violence, harassment, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive trees and produce by settlers and military personnel, which occurred on lands owned by 51 Palestinian villages, municipalities, and communities.

Israeli military seemed to have played a larger part in obstructing the olive harvest

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israel's security forces appeared to have played a greater role in obstructing the harvesting season". In approximately 70% of cases where access to farmland was forcibly blocked, soldiers, border police officers, and settler security officials were actually on site. They either directly prevented Palestinian farmers from reaching and gathering their own lands, or failed to stop settlers who threatened or attacked them.

Political Backing 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 COGAT unit uprooted private olive trees of local residents, citing missing documentation, but ignored infractions by an unauthorized nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the local court decided to stop all construction in the outpost, which was built on lands seized by Israeli authorities and illegally given to colonists.

Takeover Ambitions and Global Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a tool used by the administration to achieve de-facto incorporation. Recently, Smotrich headed a procession of thousands of settlers in favor of annexation the West Bank. He was quoted as saying, "We persist to establish presence with our feet of the Land of Israel with numerous pioneers, many champions, and countless of settlers who reside in this area of the territory ... we need to normalize it and make it eternal."

The settlers and their backers in the parliament are clear about their motives and goals. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations refrain from meaningful sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in June, but the impact of the penalty has been minimal. He may not be able to go to the UK and visit the West End, but he still enjoys the ministerial power to seize lands in the West Bank. Even in the declaration of penalties, the UK highlighted they apply "personally" only.

International Acknowledgment and Actual Situation

If the UK government acknowledges the truth of colonist aggression and its grave consequences on Palestinian life, why does it still permit settlement produce to be marketed in stores and outlets in the UK? If Starmer is serious about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how can he permit the Israeli administration to violate its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an empty ploy to silence opposition in the UK, a meaningless gesture only to be realised in the relabeling of some maps?

Pathway to True Resolution

A just resolution must honor the basic rights of the Palestinian population for self-recognition, independence, and freedom from military occupation and blockade. Only when each person's dignity between the river and sea is honored can we truly say reconciliation has been attained.

Genuine peace demands an sovereign Palestinian nation alongside the Israeli state: this is the sole formula that has agreement among the international community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace camp.

The former US president may have applied influence on the Israeli leader to stop the violence, but he likely only did so because the strain of his relationship with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become excessive. The mass protests throughout the world for the liberation of Palestine, and the unwavering anti-government demonstrations inside Israel, are the actual forces behind this influence.

It is thanks to this massive civil movement that a truce has been signed, the captives freed, and the people of Gaza can experience safeguard from destruction. Following the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is crucial to keep maintaining this pressure. The world has turned a blind eye to the violence in Gaza for many years; it must not repeat the same error in the occupied territories.