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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 sign calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state. We were violently ejected from the parliamentary session, exposing the fragile condition of what's often described as the "only democracy in the region". How can officials talk about regional peace while declining to recognize a population deprived of basic freedoms and rights under long-standing occupation?

The Situation in the Occupied West Bank

Nowhere is the hypocrisy more evident than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of reconciliation seem distant and faint, while the frightening sounds of settler violence and terror continue strongly. Over 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the announcement of the US peace proposal in September's end, featuring physical assaults, theft of agricultural produce, and burning of cars and belongings.

Targeted Aggression During Agricultural Period

The rise in settler terrorism is not coincidental. This time marks the beginning of harvest seasons. More than a vital economic event, it represents an significant communal and national moment that shows endurance under military rule. Precisely for these causes, annually settlers attack Palestinians during this crucial time. During the last year's agricultural period, human rights organizations recorded 113 separate cases of violence, harassment, harvest-thwarting, or destruction to olive groves and produce involving Israeli civilians and military personnel, which occurred on territories belonging to 51 Palestinian-owned communities, municipalities, and areas.

Israeli security forces seemed to have had a larger role in hindering the harvesting season

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israeli security forces appeared to have had a greater part in obstructing the olive harvest". In about 70% of instances where access to farmland was forcibly prevented, troops, border guards, and settlement civilian security coordinators were physically present. They either directly prevented Palestinians from reaching and harvesting their property, or failed to stop colonists who harassed or attacked them.

Government Backing for Colonization

This comes as no surprise, as the head of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra minister in the Ministry of Defence in charge of the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a particular COGAT unit removed personally-owned olive plants of local residents, citing missing documentation, but ignored infractions by an unauthorized adjacent colonist encampment. Last week, the local court decided to halt all construction in the encampment, which was constructed on property taken by Israeli authorities and illegally given to settlers.

Annexation Ambitions and International Response

In the controlled West Bank, settler terrorism is simply a instrument used by the administration to pursue practical incorporation. Recently, Smotrich led a procession of many of settlers in support of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as stating, "We are continuing to establish presence with our feet of the Land of Israel with numerous pioneers, many champions, and countless of colonists who reside in this area of the land ... we must to normalize 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 sanctioned by the UK in the summer, but the impact of the penalty has been limited. He may not be permitted to go to the United Kingdom and tour the West End, but he still enjoys the ministerial power to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the declaration of penalties, the British government highlighted they apply "in his personal capacity" only.

International Acknowledgment and Reality

If the British administration acknowledges the reality of settler violence and its grave consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit settlement produce to be sold in markets and outlets in the UK? If the British leader is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how come he permit the Israeli administration to violate its independence with such violent means? Or was the recognition an hollow tactic to shut down dissenting voices in the United Kingdom, a hollow act only to be implemented in the rebranding of some cartographic representations?

Route Toward True Peace

A just peace must honor the basic entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-recognition, sovereignty, and liberty from military occupation and siege. Only when each person's dignity across the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea is honored can we truly declare peace has been achieved.

True resolution demands an independent Palestinian nation alongside Israel: this is the sole formula that has consensus among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace advocates.

Trump may have inflicted influence on Netanyahu to stop the genocide, but he probably only did so because the burden of his connection with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become excessive. The large demonstrations across the globe for the liberation of Palestine, and the persistent anti-government protests within Israel, are the real forces behind this pressure.

It is thanks to this massive civil movement that a ceasefire has been agreed, the hostages freed, and the people of Gaza can enjoy safeguard from annihilation. After the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is crucial to keep maintaining this pressure. The world has turned a blind eye to the violence in the strip for many years; it must not make the same error in the occupied territories.