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Last Monday, during a joint address by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, colleague parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner calling for the recognition of Palestine. We were forcibly ejected from the parliamentary session, revealing the weak condition of what's frequently described as the "only democracy in the region". How can leaders speak about regional peace while refusing to acknowledge a people denied of fundamental liberties and entitlements under long-standing military control?

The Situation in the Occupied West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation seem remote and faint, while the terrifying echoes of colonist attacks and terror continue loudly. More than 30 incidents of settler aggression against Palestinians have been documented since the unveiling of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in late September, featuring attacks, stealing of agricultural produce, and torching of vehicles and property.

Targeted Aggression During Agricultural Period

The increase in settler terrorism is not coincidental. This time signals the start of harvest seasons. More than a crucial economic event, it represents an important communal and national moment that demonstrates endurance under occupation. Exactly for these causes, year after year colonists attack Palestinian farmers during this precious period. During the 2024 harvest season, human rights organizations recorded 113 separate incidents of aggression, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or damage to olive trees and produce involving Israeli civilians and military personnel, which occurred on lands owned by 51 Palestinian communities, municipalities, and areas.

Israel's military appeared to have played a greater part in hindering the olive harvest

The human rights group also found that "Israeli military seemed to have had a larger role in hindering the olive harvest". In about 70% of cases where entry to farmland was violently blocked, soldiers, border police officers, and settlement security officials were actually on site. They either directly prevented Palestinian farmers from reaching and harvesting their property, or failed to prevent colonists who threatened or attacked them.

Political Support for Colonization

This is no shock, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional official in the Defense Ministry in charge of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a special COGAT unit uprooted private olive plants of local residents, citing missing documentation, 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 taken by Israeli authorities and illegally transferred to colonists.

Takeover Ambitions and Global Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is simply a instrument used by the government to achieve de-facto incorporation. Recently, Smotrich led a procession of many of settlers in support of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We are continuing to take hold with our presence of the Land of Israel with numerous settlers, many champions, and countless of settlers who reside in this part of the land ... we need to normalise it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their backers in the parliament are clear about their motives and goals. Why, then, do government officials in the Western nations refrain from meaningful penalties and political actions? Smotrich was penalized by the United Kingdom in June, but the impact of the sanction has been minimal. He may not be able to go to the United Kingdom and visit the West End, but he still enjoys the governmental authority to seize territories in the West Bank. Even in the declaration of penalties, the British government highlighted they take place "in his personal capacity" solely.

Global Acknowledgment and Actual Situation

If the British administration recognizes the reality of colonist aggression and its serious consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still allow settlement produce to be sold in markets and shops in Britain? If Starmer is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how can he permit the Israeli government to violate its independence with such violent means? Or was the recognition an empty ploy to shut down opposition in the UK, a hollow act only to be implemented in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to Genuine Resolution

A fair peace must honor the basic entitlements of the Palestinian population for self-recognition, independence, and freedom from occupation and blockade. Only when each person's dignity between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we genuinely say reconciliation has been achieved.

True peace requires an independent Palestinian state alongside the Israeli state: this is the only solution that has agreement among the international community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have inflicted influence on Netanyahu to halt the genocide, but he probably only did so because the burden of his relationship with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become excessive. The mass protests across the globe for the freedom of Palestine, and the persistent opposition protests within the country, are the actual forces behind this pressure.

It is thanks to this enormous public campaign that a ceasefire has been agreed, the hostages freed, and the people of Gaza can enjoy protection from destruction. After the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is crucial to keep applying this influence. The world has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in the strip for too long; it must not repeat the same mistake in the occupied territories.