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Last Monday, amid a joint address by American leader Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, colleague parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign urging the recognition of the Palestinian state. We were forcibly ejected from the parliamentary session, exposing the fragile state of what's frequently described as the "sole democracy in the region". How can leaders speak about regional peace while refusing to acknowledge a population denied of basic freedoms and entitlements under decades-long military control?

The Situation in the Occupied West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more apparent than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of peace seem distant and weak, while the terrifying echoes of settler violence and terror persist strongly. Over 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinians have been recorded since the unveiling of the US peace proposal in September's end, featuring physical assaults, stealing of crops, and burning of vehicles and belongings.

Systematic Aggression During Agricultural Period

The increase in settler terrorism is deliberate. This time marks the start of agricultural harvesting. More than a vital economic event, it constitutes an significant communal and cultural moment that demonstrates endurance under military rule. Precisely for these causes, annually settlers attack Palestinian farmers during this precious period. During the 2024 harvest period, human rights organizations documented 113 separate cases of violence, intimidation, preventing harvesting, or damage to olive trees and crops by settlers and soldiers, which took place on territories belonging to 51 Palestinian-owned villages, municipalities, and communities.

Israel's security forces appeared to have played a greater part in obstructing the harvesting season

The human rights group also found that "Israeli military seemed to have had a larger role in hindering the harvesting season". In approximately 70% of cases where access to lands was violently prevented, soldiers, border guards, and settlement civilian security coordinators were actually present. They either directly stopped Palestinians from reaching and harvesting their own lands, or failed to stop settlers who harassed or assaulted them.

Government Support for Settler Activities

This comes as no surprise, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional minister in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In one village, for instance, a particular military coordination team uprooted personally-owned olive plants of local residents, claiming lack of permits, but overlooked infractions by an unauthorized nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the local court decided to stop all building work in the outpost, which was constructed on property seized by Israeli authorities and unlawfully transferred to colonists.

Annexation Ambitions and International Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is simply a instrument used by the government to achieve practical incorporation. Recently, Smotrich headed a march of many of colonists in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as saying, "We persist to take hold with our presence of the territory with numerous settlers, many heroes, and hundreds of thousands of settlers who live in this area of the land ... we need to normalise it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their supporters in the parliament are clear about their intentions and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations refrain from substantial penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in June, but the effect of the sanction has been minimal. He may not be permitted to travel to the UK and visit the West End, but he still maintains the ministerial power to seize lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the declaration of sanctions, the British government emphasized they apply "in his personal capacity" only.

International Recognition and Reality

If the British administration recognizes the reality of colonist aggression and its serious consequences 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 acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how can he permit the Israeli administration to breach its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the acknowledgment an empty ploy to shut down dissenting voices in the UK, a meaningless act only to be implemented in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to Genuine Peace

A just peace must honor the fundamental rights of the Palestinian population for self-determination, independence, and freedom from military occupation and blockade. Only when every person's worth across the river and sea is honored can we genuinely declare peace has been achieved.

True resolution requires an sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel: this is the sole solution that enjoises agreement among the global community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace camp.

The former US president may have inflicted pressure on the Israeli leader to stop the violence, but he likely only did so because the strain of his connection with the pariah regime of the Israeli PM had become excessive. The mass protests throughout 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 enormous civil movement that a truce has been signed, the hostages released, and the people of Gaza can experience safeguard from destruction. Following the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is crucial to continue maintaining this pressure. The world has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in the strip for too long; it must not make the same mistake in the West Bank.