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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 parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I raised a banner urging the recognition of the Palestinian state. We were forcibly removed from the parliamentary assembly, revealing the weak state of what's often portrayed as the "only democracy in the region". How can leaders speak about regional peace while refusing to recognize a people denied of basic freedoms and rights under long-standing military control?

The Situation in the 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 colonist attacks and intimidation continue loudly. Over 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been recorded since the announcement of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in September's end, featuring attacks, stealing of crops, and burning of vehicles and belongings.

Systematic Aggression During Agricultural Period

The increase in violence by colonists is deliberate. This period signals the beginning of agricultural harvesting. More than a vital economic activity, it constitutes an important social and cultural moment that demonstrates endurance under military rule. Exactly for these causes, annually settlers attack Palestinian farmers during this crucial time. During the 2024 harvest period, human rights organizations recorded 113 separate cases of aggression, intimidation, preventing harvesting, or damage to olive trees and produce involving settlers and soldiers, which occurred on lands owned by 51 Palestinian-owned villages, towns, and communities.

Israel's security forces seemed to have played a larger part in obstructing the olive harvest

The human rights group also discovered that "Israeli military seemed to have played a larger part in obstructing the olive harvest". In about 70% of instances where access to farmland was forcibly blocked, troops, border police officers, and settlement security officials were actually on site. They either personally stopped Palestinians from reaching and gathering their property, or neglected to prevent colonists who harassed or assaulted them.

Political Support for Settler Activities

This comes as no surprise, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra official in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In one village, for instance, a particular military coordination team uprooted private olive trees of Palestinians, citing lack of permits, but ignored violations by an illegal adjacent settler outpost. Last week, the local court decided to stop all building work in the encampment, which was constructed on property taken by Israel and unlawfully transferred to colonists.

Annexation Ambitions and Global Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a instrument used by the government to achieve practical annexation. Recently, Smotrich led a march of thousands of settlers in favor of annexation the West Bank. He was quoted as saying, "We are continuing to take hold with our presence of the Land of Israel with many settlers, numerous champions, and hundreds of thousands of settlers who live in this part of the land ... we must to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their backers in the parliament are clear about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations refrain from meaningful sanctions and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the United Kingdom in the summer, but the impact of the penalty has been limited. He may not be permitted to travel to the UK and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the ministerial power to seize territories in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of sanctions, the British government highlighted they take place "personally" only.

Global Recognition and Reality

If the British administration acknowledges the truth of colonist aggression and its grave implications on Palestinian life, why does it still permit settlement produce to be marketed in markets and outlets in the UK? If the British leader is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a sovereign entity, how come he allow the Israeli administration to breach its sovereignty with such aggressive methods? Or was the acknowledgment an empty tactic to silence opposition in the United Kingdom, a meaningless gesture only to be implemented in the rebranding of some maps?

Route Toward True Peace

A fair resolution must respect the basic rights of the Palestinian population for self-recognition, independence, and freedom from military occupation and siege. Only when each person's worth across the Jordan River and sea is respected can we truly declare peace has been attained.

True resolution demands an sovereign Palestinian nation alongside Israel: this is the sole solution that enjoises agreement among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace advocates.

The former US president 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 throughout the world for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering anti-government protests inside Israel, are the actual factors behind this pressure.

It is thanks to this enormous public campaign that a truce has been agreed, the captives released, and the residents of the territory can experience safeguard from destruction. Following the truce arrangement has been finalized, it is crucial to keep applying this influence. The world has ignored to the violence in Gaza for too long; it must not make the same mistake in the West Bank.