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Last Monday, during a joint address by US President Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, colleague lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I raised a banner calling for the recognition of Palestine. We were forcibly removed from the parliamentary assembly, revealing the weak condition of what's often portrayed as the "only democratic state in the region". How can officials talk about regional peace while declining to acknowledge a population deprived of basic liberties and rights under decades-long military control?

The Reality in the West Bank

Nowhere is the deceit more apparent than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of peace seem distant and weak, while the terrifying echoes of settler violence and intimidation continue strongly. More than 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the unveiling of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in late September, featuring attacks, theft of agricultural produce, and torching of vehicles and property.

Systematic Violence During Agricultural Period

The increase in settler terrorism is deliberate. This period signals the start of agricultural harvesting. Beyond a crucial economic activity, it represents an important communal and national moment that shows endurance under occupation. Exactly for these causes, annually colonists attack Palestinians throughout this precious time. During the 2024 harvest season, rights groups documented 113 separate cases of aggression, harassment, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive trees and produce involving Israeli civilians and soldiers, which occurred on lands owned by 51 Palestinian-owned villages, towns, and communities.

Israeli security forces seemed to have had a greater part in obstructing the olive harvest

The human rights group also found that "Israeli military appeared to have played a larger role in hindering the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of cases where access to lands was forcibly blocked, troops, border police officers, and settler security officials were actually on site. They either directly stopped Palestinian farmers from reaching and gathering their own lands, or neglected to stop colonists who threatened or attacked them.

Political Support for Colonization

This comes as no surprise, as the head of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an extra official in the Defense Ministry in charge of the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a particular military coordination team removed private olive plants of Palestinians, claiming lack of permits, but ignored violations by an unauthorized adjacent colonist encampment. Last week, the Jerusalem district court ruled to halt all building work in the encampment, which was built on lands seized by Israel and unlawfully given to settlers.

Takeover Ambitions and Global Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, settler terrorism is simply a instrument used by the government to pursue de-facto incorporation. Recently, Smotrich led a march of many of settlers in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We persist to take hold with our presence of the Land of Israel with many pioneers, many heroes, and countless of colonists who live in this area of the territory ... we need to normalise it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their backers in the Knesset are clear about their intentions and goals. Why, then, do government officials in the west refrain from meaningful penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in the summer, but the impact of the sanction has been limited. He may not be able to go to the United Kingdom and visit the London's entertainment district, but he still maintains the ministerial power to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of penalties, the UK highlighted they take place "personally" only.

International Recognition and Actual Situation

If the UK government acknowledges the reality of settler violence and its serious implications on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit settlement produce to be marketed in stores and shops in the UK? If Starmer is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a sovereign entity, how can he allow the Israeli administration to violate its independence with such violent means? Or was the recognition an hollow tactic to silence opposition in the United Kingdom, a hollow act only to be realised in the relabeling of some maps?

Route Toward Genuine Peace

A just peace must respect the fundamental rights of the Palestinian population for self-recognition, independence, and liberty from occupation and blockade. Only when every person's dignity across the Jordan River and sea is respected can we truly declare peace has been attained.

True resolution demands an independent Palestinian nation next to the Israeli state: this is the sole solution that enjoises agreement among the international community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have applied pressure on the Israeli leader to halt the violence, but he probably only did so because the burden of his connection with the pariah regime of the Israeli PM had become too great. The mass protests across the world for the freedom of Palestinian territories, and the persistent anti-government protests inside the country, are the actual factors behind this influence.

It is thanks to this massive public campaign that a truce has been signed, the captives freed, and the people of the territory can enjoy protection from destruction. Following the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is vital to keep maintaining this pressure. The international community has turned a blind eye to the violence in the strip for too long; it must not repeat the same error in the West Bank.