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Last week, during a combined address by US President Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, colleague lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign urging the recognition of Palestine. We were forcibly ejected from the parliamentary assembly, exposing the weak state of what's often described as the "only democracy in the Middle East". How can leaders talk about regional peace while refusing to acknowledge a population deprived of fundamental liberties and rights under decades-long occupation?

The Reality in the Occupied West Bank

Nowhere is the hypocrisy more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, words of peace sound remote and faint, while the terrifying echoes of settler violence and intimidation continue loudly. Over 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the announcement of the US peace proposal in late September, including physical assaults, stealing of agricultural produce, and torching of cars and property.

Systematic Aggression During Harvest Season

The rise in violence by colonists is not coincidental. This period signals the beginning of harvest seasons. More than a crucial economic event, it constitutes an important communal and national moment that shows resilience under occupation. Exactly for these reasons, year after year colonists attack Palestinian farmers during this precious time. During the 2024 harvest period, rights groups recorded 113 separate incidents of aggression, harassment, preventing harvesting, or damage to olive groves and produce by settlers and military personnel, which occurred on lands belonging to 51 Palestinian communities, towns, and areas.

Israel's military seemed to have had a larger part in obstructing the olive harvest

The human rights group also found that "Israel's military seemed to have had a greater part in obstructing the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of instances where entry to lands was violently blocked, soldiers, border guards, and settler security officials were physically on site. They either personally prevented Palestinian farmers from accessing and harvesting their property, or failed to prevent colonists who threatened or attacked them.

Political Backing for Settler Activities

This is no surprise, as the head of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional official in the Defense Ministry responsible for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In Umm al-Khair, for instance, a special COGAT unit removed private olive trees of local residents, claiming lack of permits, but ignored violations by an unauthorized adjacent settler outpost. Last week, the Jerusalem district court decided to halt all building work in the encampment, which was built on property seized by Israeli authorities and illegally given to colonists.

Annexation Ambitions and Global Response

In the controlled West Bank, settler terrorism is nothing but a instrument used by the administration to pursue de-facto annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich headed a march of many of colonists in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as saying, "We are continuing to establish presence with our feet of the territory with many settlers, numerous champions, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who reside in this area of the land ... we need to normalise it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their backers in the parliament are clear about their intentions and goals. Why, then, do government officials in the west refrain from substantial penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in the summer, but the impact of the sanction has been limited. He may not be permitted to go to the United Kingdom and visit the West End, but he still maintains the governmental authority to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of sanctions, the UK emphasized they apply "in his personal capacity" only.

Global Acknowledgment and Actual Situation

If the British administration recognizes the reality of settler violence and its grave consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still allow goods from settlements to be marketed in stores and outlets in Britain? If Starmer is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a state, how can he permit the Israeli administration to violate its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an hollow tactic to shut down opposition in the UK, a meaningless act only to be implemented in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to Genuine Resolution

A just peace must honor the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people for self-determination, independence, and freedom from occupation and blockade. Only when every person's dignity between the river and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we genuinely declare peace has been achieved.

True peace demands an sovereign Palestinian state alongside the Israeli state: 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 pressure on Netanyahu to stop the genocide, but he likely only did so because the burden of his relationship with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become too great. The large demonstrations throughout the world for the freedom of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering opposition protests within the country, are the actual factors behind this pressure.

It is thanks to this enormous public campaign that a ceasefire has been signed, the captives freed, and the residents of the territory can experience protection from destruction. Following the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is vital to continue maintaining this influence. The world has ignored to the atrocities in Gaza for too long; it must not make the same error in the occupied territories.