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Last week, amid a joint address by American leader Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, fellow parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign urging the recognition of Palestine. We were violently ejected from the legislative assembly, revealing the weak condition of what's often portrayed as the "sole democratic state in the region". How can officials speak about regional peace while refusing to recognize a population deprived of fundamental freedoms and rights under long-standing military control?

The Situation in the Occupied West Bank

Nowhere is the hypocrisy more apparent than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation sound remote and faint, while the frightening sounds of settler violence and intimidation persist loudly. More than 30 incidents of settler aggression against Palestinians have been recorded since the unveiling of the US 20-point plan in September's end, including attacks, theft of crops, and torching of vehicles and belongings.

Targeted Violence During Harvest Season

The rise in violence by colonists is deliberate. This period signals the start of harvest seasons. Beyond a vital economic activity, it constitutes an important social and national moment that shows endurance under military rule. Precisely for these reasons, year after year settlers attack Palestinians throughout this crucial period. During the last year's agricultural season, rights groups documented 113 separate cases of aggression, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or damage to olive trees and crops involving Israeli civilians and military personnel, which took place on lands owned by 51 Palestinian communities, municipalities, and communities.

Israeli military appeared to have had a greater part in obstructing the olive harvest

The human rights group also discovered that "Israeli military appeared to have played a greater part in obstructing the harvesting season". In approximately 70% of cases where entry to lands was violently blocked, soldiers, border guards, and settlement civilian security coordinators were actually present. They either personally stopped Palestinians from reaching and harvesting their own lands, or failed to stop colonists who threatened or assaulted them.

Political Support for Settler Activities

This comes as no surprise, as the head of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an extra minister in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In Umm al-Khair, for instance, a particular military coordination team uprooted private olive plants of local residents, claiming missing documentation, but ignored infractions by an unauthorized nearby settler outpost. Last week, the local court decided to halt all construction in the outpost, which was constructed on lands seized by Israeli authorities and illegally transferred to colonists.

Takeover Goals and Global Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is simply a tool used by the government to achieve de-facto annexation. Recently, Smotrich headed a procession of many of colonists in support of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as saying, "We persist to establish presence with our feet of the territory with many settlers, numerous heroes, and countless of colonists who reside in this part of the land ... we need to normalise it and make it eternal."

The colonists and their backers in the Knesset are explicit about their intentions and intentions. Why, then, do government officials in the Western nations refrain from meaningful sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was penalized by the United Kingdom in the summer, but the impact of the penalty has been limited. He may not be permitted to go to the United Kingdom and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the governmental authority to take lands in the West Bank. Even in the declaration of sanctions, the UK emphasized they take place "in his personal capacity" solely.

Global Acknowledgment and Reality

If the British administration acknowledges the truth of settler violence and its grave implications on Palestinian life, why does it still permit settlement produce to be marketed in stores and outlets in Britain? If Starmer is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how come he permit the Israeli government to breach its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the acknowledgment an hollow ploy to silence opposition in the UK, a hollow gesture only to be implemented in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to True Resolution

A just peace must respect the fundamental rights of the Palestinian population for self-recognition, sovereignty, and freedom from military occupation and blockade. Only when every human being's worth across the river and sea is respected can we truly say peace has been achieved.

Genuine resolution requires an sovereign Palestinian nation next to Israel: this is the only formula that has consensus among the global community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace advocates.

Trump may have applied influence on the Israeli leader to stop the genocide, but he probably only did so because the strain of his connection with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become too great. The mass protests across the globe for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the persistent anti-government demonstrations inside the country, are the actual forces behind this influence.

It is due to this massive public campaign that a ceasefire has been signed, the hostages released, and the people of the territory can experience safeguard from destruction. Following the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is crucial to keep applying this influence. The international community has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in Gaza for many years; it must not make the same mistake in the occupied territories.