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Last week, amid a combined speech by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, fellow lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign urging the acknowledgment of Palestine. We were forcibly ejected from the parliamentary assembly, revealing the weak state of what's frequently portrayed as the "only democratic state in the region". How can officials speak about regional peace while declining to recognize a people denied of basic freedoms and rights under decades-long military control?

The Reality in the Occupied West Bank

Nowhere is the deceit more evident than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of peace seem distant and faint, while the terrifying sounds of colonist attacks and intimidation continue strongly. Over 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the unveiling of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in September's end, featuring attacks, theft of agricultural produce, and torching of vehicles and property.

Systematic Violence During Agricultural Period

The rise in settler terrorism is deliberate. This period marks the beginning of agricultural harvesting. Beyond a crucial economic event, it constitutes an significant communal and national occasion that shows endurance under occupation. Precisely for these reasons, annually settlers target Palestinians during this precious time. During the last year's agricultural season, rights groups documented 113 distinct cases of violence, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or damage to olive trees and produce involving Israeli civilians and military personnel, which occurred on lands belonging to 51 Palestinian villages, towns, and areas.

Israeli security forces appeared to have had a greater role in hindering the olive harvest

Yesh Din also found that "Israeli military seemed to have played a larger part in hindering the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of instances where entry to farmland was forcibly blocked, troops, border police officers, and settler security officials were actually present. They either personally stopped Palestinians from reaching and gathering their property, or failed to stop colonists who harassed or assaulted them.

Political Support for Colonization

This is no surprise, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra official in the Ministry of Defence in charge of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In Umm al-Khair, for instance, a special military coordination team uprooted private olive plants of Palestinians, claiming missing documentation, but ignored violations by an unauthorized adjacent settler outpost. Last week, the local court decided to halt all building work in the encampment, which was constructed on lands seized by Israel and unlawfully given to settlers.

Annexation Goals and International Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a instrument used by the government to pursue de-facto incorporation. Recently, Smotrich headed a procession of thousands of settlers in support of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as saying, "We are continuing to take hold with our feet of the territory with many settlers, many heroes, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who live in this area of the territory ... we need to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their supporters in the Knesset are clear about their intentions and intentions. Why, then, do government officials in the west hesitate from substantial sanctions and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in June, but the effect of the sanction has been limited. He may not be permitted to travel to the UK and visit the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the ministerial power to seize lands in the West Bank. Even in the declaration of sanctions, the UK emphasized they apply "in his personal capacity" only.

Global Acknowledgment and Reality

If the UK government acknowledges the reality of settler violence and its serious implications on Palestinian life, why does it still allow goods from settlements to be marketed in markets and outlets in the UK? If Starmer is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how can he allow the Israeli administration to breach its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an empty ploy to shut down dissenting voices in the UK, a hollow act only to be realised 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-determination, sovereignty, and liberty from military occupation and siege. Only when every human being's worth across the river and sea is respected can we truly declare reconciliation has been attained.

True peace requires an sovereign Palestinian nation next to Israel: this is the sole formula that enjoises consensus among the global community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have applied influence on Netanyahu to halt the genocide, but he likely only did so because the strain of his connection with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become too great. The large demonstrations across the globe for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering anti-government demonstrations within the country, are the actual factors behind this influence.

It is due to this massive civil movement that a truce has been signed, the captives released, and the residents of the territory can experience protection from annihilation. After the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is vital to continue applying this influence. The international community has ignored to the atrocities in the strip for many years; it must not repeat the same mistake in the occupied territories.