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Last Monday, during a combined speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, fellow parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign calling for the recognition of Palestine. We were violently removed from the legislative session, revealing the fragile condition of what's frequently portrayed as the "sole democracy in the Middle East". How can leaders talk about Middle East peace while declining to recognize a population denied of basic freedoms and entitlements under decades-long military control?

The Reality in the Occupied West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more evident than in the controlled West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation sound distant and faint, while the terrifying sounds of colonist attacks and intimidation continue loudly. Over 30 incidents of settler aggression against Palestinian civilians have been recorded since the unveiling of the Trump administration's peace proposal in late September, featuring attacks, theft of crops, and torching of vehicles and property.

Targeted Violence During Agricultural Period

The rise in violence by colonists is deliberate. This period marks the beginning of agricultural harvesting. Beyond a vital economic activity, it constitutes an important social and cultural occasion that shows resilience under occupation. Exactly for these causes, year after year colonists target Palestinian farmers during this precious time. During the 2024 harvest period, rights groups documented 113 distinct cases of violence, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or damage to olive groves and crops by Israeli civilians and soldiers, which occurred on lands owned by 51 Palestinian communities, municipalities, and communities.

Israel's security forces seemed to have played a larger role in obstructing the harvesting season

Yesh Din also found that "Israel's security forces seemed to have played a larger part in obstructing the olive harvest". In about 70% of instances where access to farmland was violently prevented, soldiers, border police officers, and settler civilian security coordinators were physically present. They either directly prevented Palestinian farmers from reaching and gathering their property, or failed to stop settlers who threatened or attacked them.

Political Backing for Colonization

This is no surprise, as the head of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an additional official in the Ministry of Defence in charge of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In one village, for example, a particular COGAT unit removed personally-owned olive trees of Palestinians, citing missing documentation, but overlooked infractions by an unauthorized nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the local court ruled to stop all construction in the encampment, which was built on lands seized by Israel and illegally given to settlers.

Annexation Ambitions and Global Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is simply a instrument used by the administration to achieve de-facto annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich led a procession of many of colonists in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as saying, "We persist to establish presence with our feet of the Land of Israel with numerous pioneers, many champions, and countless of colonists who live in this area of the land ... we need to normalise it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their supporters in the Knesset are clear about their motives and goals. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations hesitate from meaningful sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in the summer, but the effect of the penalty has been minimal. He may not be permitted to go to the UK and tour the West End, but he still maintains the governmental authority to seize territories in the West Bank. Even in the declaration of penalties, the British government highlighted they apply "personally" only.

Global Acknowledgment and Reality

If the UK government recognizes the truth of colonist aggression and its grave consequences on Palestinian life, why does it still permit settlement produce to be marketed in stores and outlets in Britain? If Starmer is serious about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how can he allow the Israeli government to breach its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the recognition an empty tactic to silence opposition in the UK, a meaningless gesture only to be implemented in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to True Peace

A fair peace must respect the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-determination, independence, and liberty from military occupation and blockade. Only when every person's worth between the Jordan River and sea is honored can we truly say reconciliation has been attained.

Genuine peace requires an sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel: this is the only formula that has consensus among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace advocates.

Trump may have applied pressure on Netanyahu to halt the genocide, but he likely only did so because the strain of his relationship with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become excessive. The mass protests across the globe for the liberation of Palestine, and the unwavering anti-government demonstrations inside the country, are the real factors behind this pressure.

It is thanks to this enormous public campaign that a truce has been signed, the hostages freed, and the people of Gaza can experience safeguard from annihilation. Following the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is vital to keep maintaining this influence. The international community has ignored to the violence in Gaza for too long; it must not make the same mistake in the West Bank.