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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, colleague lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state. We were violently ejected from the parliamentary session, revealing the weak state of what's frequently portrayed as the "sole democratic state in the Middle East". How can leaders talk about Middle East peace while declining to acknowledge a people deprived of fundamental freedoms and rights under long-standing military control?

The Situation in the West Bank

Nowhere is the hypocrisy more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, words of peace seem distant and weak, while the terrifying sounds of settler violence and terror continue loudly. More than 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinians have been documented since the unveiling of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in September's end, featuring attacks, theft of crops, and burning of vehicles and belongings.

Targeted Aggression During Agricultural Period

The rise in settler terrorism is not coincidental. This period marks the beginning of harvest seasons. Beyond a vital economic activity, it represents an important communal and cultural moment that shows resilience under occupation. Precisely for these reasons, annually settlers attack Palestinian farmers during this crucial period. During the 2024 harvest season, rights groups documented 113 separate incidents of aggression, harassment, harvest-thwarting, or damage to olive groves and crops involving Israeli civilians and military personnel, which occurred on lands owned by 51 Palestinian-owned communities, municipalities, and areas.

Israel's security forces appeared to have had a larger part in obstructing the harvesting season

The human rights group also discovered that "Israel's security forces seemed to have had a greater role in obstructing the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of instances where entry to farmland was violently prevented, soldiers, border police officers, and settler civilian security coordinators were physically present. They either personally stopped Palestinians from accessing and gathering their property, or neglected to stop settlers who threatened or assaulted them.

Political Backing for Settler Activities

This comes as no shock, as the leader of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an extra official in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In one village, for instance, a particular COGAT unit uprooted private olive trees of Palestinians, claiming lack of permits, but ignored violations by an illegal nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the local court decided to halt all construction in the outpost, which was constructed on lands seized by Israel and unlawfully transferred to settlers.

Takeover Ambitions and Global Response

In the occupied West Bank, settler terrorism is nothing but a tool used by the government to pursue de-facto annexation. Recently, Smotrich headed a march of thousands of settlers in support of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as saying, "We are continuing to establish presence with our presence of the Land of Israel with many settlers, numerous heroes, and countless of colonists who reside in this area of the land ... we need to normalise it and make it eternal."

The settlers and their backers in the Knesset are explicit about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations hesitate from meaningful sanctions and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in June, but the effect 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 governmental authority to seize territories in the West Bank. Even in the announcement of sanctions, the British government highlighted they apply "in his personal capacity" solely.

Global Acknowledgment and Actual Situation

If the UK government recognizes the truth of colonist aggression and its serious consequences on Palestinian life, why does it still permit settlement produce to be marketed in stores and shops in Britain? If the British leader is serious about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how come he allow the Israeli government to violate its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the acknowledgment an hollow tactic to shut down dissenting voices in the United Kingdom, a meaningless gesture only to be realised in the rebranding of some maps?

Route Toward True Peace

A fair resolution must respect the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people for self-recognition, independence, and freedom from occupation and siege. Only when each person's dignity between the river and sea is respected can we truly declare reconciliation has been attained.

Genuine peace demands an sovereign Palestinian nation next to the Israeli state: this is the sole formula that enjoises agreement among the global community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace camp.

The former US president may have applied influence on Netanyahu to stop the violence, but he likely only did so because the burden of his connection with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become too great. The mass protests throughout the globe for the freedom of Palestinian territories, and the persistent opposition protests inside the country, are the real factors behind this influence.

It is thanks to this enormous civil movement that a truce has been agreed, the captives freed, and the residents of the territory can experience protection from annihilation. After the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is crucial to keep maintaining this influence. The world has ignored to the atrocities in Gaza for many years; it must not repeat the same mistake in the West Bank.