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Last Monday, amid a joint speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, colleague lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner urging the recognition of Palestine. We were violently ejected from the parliamentary session, revealing the weak state of what's frequently described as the "only democratic state in the Middle East". How can officials talk about regional peace while refusing to acknowledge a population deprived of basic freedoms and rights under decades-long occupation?

The Situation in the Occupied West Bank

Nowhere is the deceit more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, words of reconciliation seem remote and weak, while the terrifying echoes of settler violence and terror persist loudly. More than 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been recorded since the unveiling of the US peace proposal in late September, including physical assaults, stealing of crops, and burning of vehicles and belongings.

Targeted Violence During Harvest Season

The rise in violence by colonists is deliberate. This period marks the beginning of agricultural harvesting. More than a vital economic activity, it represents an important communal and cultural occasion that demonstrates endurance under military rule. Exactly for these reasons, year after year settlers target Palestinian farmers during this crucial period. During the 2024 harvest period, human rights organizations recorded 113 separate incidents of violence, intimidation, preventing harvesting, or damage to olive trees and crops by Israeli civilians and soldiers, which occurred on territories owned by 51 Palestinian-owned villages, towns, and communities.

Israeli security forces appeared to have played a greater role in hindering the olive harvest

The human rights group also found that "Israel's security forces seemed to have had a greater part in hindering the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of instances where entry to lands was violently blocked, soldiers, border guards, and settlement security officials were actually present. They either directly prevented Palestinian farmers from reaching and gathering their own lands, or neglected to stop colonists who harassed or attacked them.

Political Support for Colonization

This comes as no surprise, as the head of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional official in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In one village, for example, a particular COGAT unit uprooted personally-owned olive plants of local residents, citing lack of permits, but ignored infractions by an illegal nearby settler outpost. Last week, the Jerusalem district court decided to halt all building work in the encampment, which was built on lands taken by Israeli authorities and unlawfully given to colonists.

Takeover Goals and International Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a instrument used by the administration to pursue de-facto incorporation. Earlier this month, Smotrich headed a procession of many of colonists in support of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as saying, "We are continuing to establish presence with our feet of the Land of Israel with many pioneers, numerous champions, and countless of colonists who reside in this part of the land ... we need to normalise it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their supporters in the Knesset are clear about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do government officials in the Western nations hesitate from substantial sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in the summer, but the effect of the penalty has been minimal. He may not be permitted to go to the United Kingdom and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still maintains the ministerial power to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of penalties, the UK highlighted they apply "in his personal capacity" solely.

International Recognition and Actual Situation

If the UK government acknowledges the truth of settler violence and its serious consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit settlement produce to be marketed in stores and shops in Britain? If Starmer is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how come he permit the Israeli administration to breach its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the acknowledgment an empty ploy to silence opposition in the United Kingdom, a meaningless act only to be implemented in the relabeling of some maps?

Route Toward True Peace

A just peace must honor the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-determination, sovereignty, and freedom from military occupation and siege. Only when each person's worth across the river and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we truly say reconciliation has been achieved.

True peace requires an independent Palestinian state next to the Israeli state: this is the only formula that enjoises consensus among the global community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have applied influence on Netanyahu to stop the violence, but he probably only did so because the strain of his connection with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become excessive. The large demonstrations throughout the globe for the freedom of Palestine, and the unwavering opposition 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 residents of the territory can experience protection from annihilation. After the truce arrangement has been signed, it is crucial to continue applying this pressure. The international community has turned a blind eye to the violence in Gaza for too long; it must not make the same error in the occupied territories.