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Last week, 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 acknowledgment of Palestine. We were forcibly ejected from the legislative assembly, exposing the weak condition of what's often portrayed as the "only democratic state in the Middle East". How can leaders speak about regional peace while declining to acknowledge a people denied of basic liberties and entitlements under decades-long occupation?

The Reality in the Occupied West Bank

In no place is the deceit more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of peace seem remote and faint, while the frightening sounds of colonist attacks and intimidation persist loudly. Over 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been recorded since the unveiling of the US 20-point plan in September's end, featuring physical assaults, stealing of crops, and torching of cars and belongings.

Targeted Violence During Agricultural Period

The increase in settler terrorism is not coincidental. This period signals the start of agricultural harvesting. Beyond a vital economic event, it constitutes an important communal and national occasion that demonstrates resilience under occupation. Exactly for these causes, annually settlers target Palestinian farmers during this crucial time. During the last year's agricultural period, rights groups documented 113 separate cases of violence, intimidation, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive groves and crops involving settlers and military personnel, which occurred on lands owned by 51 Palestinian-owned communities, towns, and communities.

Israeli security forces seemed to have played a larger role in obstructing the harvesting season

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israel's security forces seemed to have had a greater part in obstructing the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of cases where entry to lands was violently prevented, troops, border police officers, and settlement civilian security coordinators were physically present. They either directly prevented Palestinian farmers from reaching and gathering their property, or neglected to prevent settlers who threatened or attacked them.

Political Support for Colonization

This comes as no surprise, as the leader of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional official in the Defense Ministry responsible for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In one village, for example, a special military coordination team removed private olive plants of Palestinians, citing missing documentation, but ignored violations by an unauthorized adjacent settler outpost. Last week, the Jerusalem district court ruled to halt all construction in the encampment, which was built on property taken by Israel and unlawfully given to settlers.

Takeover Goals and Global Response

In the controlled West Bank, settler terrorism is nothing but a tool used by the government to pursue practical annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich headed a march of many of settlers in support of annexation the West Bank. He was reported as saying, "We are continuing to take hold with our feet of the Land of Israel with numerous pioneers, numerous heroes, and hundreds of thousands of settlers who live in this area of the land ... we need to normalize 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 Western nations hesitate from meaningful penalties and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in the summer, but the effect of the penalty has been limited. He may not be permitted to go to the UK and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still maintains the governmental authority to seize territories in the West Bank. Even in the declaration of penalties, the UK emphasized they take place "personally" solely.

International Recognition and Reality

If the UK government acknowledges the truth of colonist aggression and its grave consequences on Palestinian life, why does it still permit goods from settlements to be sold in markets and shops in Britain? If Starmer is serious about recognition of Palestine as a state, how can he permit the Israeli administration to violate its independence with such violent means? Or was the acknowledgment an empty tactic to silence opposition in the UK, a meaningless act only to be realised in the relabeling of some maps?

Route Toward True Resolution

A just peace must respect the fundamental rights of the Palestinian population for self-determination, independence, and freedom from occupation and siege. Only when each person's worth between the river and sea is respected can we genuinely say reconciliation has been achieved.

True resolution requires an sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel: this is the sole formula that has consensus among the global community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace camp.

The former US president may have applied influence on Netanyahu to stop the genocide, but he probably only did so because the strain of his connection with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become too great. The large demonstrations across the globe for the freedom of Palestinian territories, and the persistent anti-government protests within the country, are the actual forces behind this influence.

It is thanks to this enormous public campaign that a truce has been signed, the hostages freed, and the residents of Gaza can experience safeguard from annihilation. After the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is vital to continue maintaining this influence. The world has ignored to the violence in Gaza for many years; it must not make the same error in the occupied territories.