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Last week, amid a joint speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, colleague parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I raised a sign urging the recognition of the Palestinian state. We were forcibly ejected from the legislative assembly, exposing the weak state of what's frequently described as the "only democracy in the region". How can officials speak about Middle East peace while refusing to acknowledge a population deprived of basic freedoms and rights under decades-long occupation?

The Reality in the Occupied West Bank

Nowhere is the deceit more apparent than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of reconciliation sound distant and faint, while the terrifying echoes of colonist attacks and terror persist strongly. Over 30 incidents of settler aggression against Palestinians have been recorded since the announcement of the US 20-point plan in September's end, including attacks, stealing of agricultural produce, and burning of cars and property.

Targeted Violence During Agricultural Period

The rise in violence by colonists is not coincidental. This time marks the beginning of agricultural harvesting. Beyond a crucial economic event, it represents an significant communal and national occasion that shows endurance under military rule. Exactly for these causes, year after year colonists target Palestinian farmers during this crucial period. During the 2024 harvest period, rights groups recorded 113 separate cases of aggression, intimidation, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive trees and produce involving settlers and soldiers, which occurred on territories owned by 51 Palestinian communities, municipalities, and communities.

Israel's military seemed to have played a larger role in hindering the olive harvest

The human rights group also found that "Israel's security forces appeared to have had a larger role in hindering the harvesting season". In approximately 70% of instances where entry to farmland was violently prevented, troops, border guards, and settler civilian security coordinators were physically present. They either personally stopped Palestinian farmers from reaching and harvesting their own lands, or neglected to stop settlers who threatened or attacked them.

Government Support for Colonization

This comes as no shock, as the head of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an extra official in the Defense Ministry responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for instance, a particular military coordination team removed personally-owned olive plants of Palestinians, citing lack of permits, but ignored violations by an illegal adjacent settler outpost. Last week, the local court ruled to stop all building work in the outpost, which was built on lands taken by Israel and unlawfully given to colonists.

Annexation Goals and Global Response

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a instrument used by the administration to achieve de-facto annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich led a march of thousands of settlers in support of annexation the West Bank. He was reported as saying, "We persist to establish presence with our presence of the Land of Israel with many settlers, numerous champions, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who live in this part of the land ... we need to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their backers in the parliament are explicit about their intentions and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations refrain from meaningful penalties and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in June, but the impact of the penalty has been minimal. He may not be permitted to travel to the United Kingdom and visit the West End, but he still maintains the ministerial power to seize territories in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of penalties, the British government emphasized they take place "personally" solely.

International Recognition and Actual Situation

If the UK government acknowledges the truth of settler violence and its serious implications on Palestinian life, why does it still permit settlement produce to be sold in stores and shops in the UK? If the British leader is serious about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how can he allow the Israeli government to violate its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the recognition an hollow ploy to shut down opposition in the UK, a hollow gesture only to be realised in the relabeling of some maps?

Route Toward True Resolution

A fair resolution must respect the basic rights of the Palestinian people for self-recognition, independence, and freedom from military occupation and siege. Only when each person's dignity between the Jordan River and sea is honored can we genuinely declare peace has been achieved.

True resolution requires an independent Palestinian state alongside the Israeli state: this is the sole formula that has consensus among the global community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace camp.

The former US president may have inflicted influence on Netanyahu to stop the genocide, but he likely only did so because the burden of his connection with the isolated government of the Israeli PM had become too great. The large demonstrations across the world for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering anti-government demonstrations inside the country, are the real factors behind this influence.

It is thanks to this massive civil movement that a ceasefire has been signed, the hostages freed, and the residents of Gaza can experience protection from annihilation. Following the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is crucial to continue maintaining this influence. The world has ignored to the violence in Gaza for too long; it must not repeat the same mistake in the West Bank.