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Last Monday, amid a joint speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, fellow lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I raised a banner urging the acknowledgment of Palestine. We were forcibly ejected from the parliamentary assembly, exposing the fragile condition of what's often described as the "sole democracy in the region". How can officials talk about regional peace while refusing to acknowledge a population deprived of fundamental freedoms and entitlements under decades-long occupation?

The Situation in the West Bank

In no place is the deceit more apparent than in the occupied West Bank. There, words of peace seem remote and weak, while the terrifying sounds 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 US 20-point plan in late September, featuring attacks, theft of crops, and torching of cars and property.

Systematic Violence During Harvest Season

The increase in settler terrorism is not coincidental. This time marks the start of harvest seasons. Beyond a vital economic event, it constitutes an significant communal and cultural occasion that demonstrates resilience under military rule. Exactly for these causes, annually colonists target Palestinians during this precious period. During the last year's agricultural period, human rights organizations recorded 113 distinct incidents of aggression, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or damage to olive groves and produce by Israeli civilians and soldiers, which took place on lands owned by 51 Palestinian-owned communities, towns, and areas.

Israel's security forces appeared to have had a larger role in hindering the olive harvest

The human rights group also discovered that "Israeli military appeared to have played a larger part in obstructing the olive harvest". In about 70% of cases where entry to lands was violently prevented, soldiers, border police officers, and settler civilian security coordinators were physically present. They either personally prevented Palestinian farmers from accessing and harvesting their own lands, or neglected to prevent settlers who harassed or assaulted them.

Political Support for Settler Activities

This is no surprise, as the leader of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra official in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for instance, a special COGAT unit removed personally-owned olive trees of Palestinians, claiming missing documentation, but ignored infractions by an illegal nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the local court decided to stop all building work in the outpost, which was constructed on lands taken by Israeli authorities and illegally transferred to colonists.

Takeover Goals and Global Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is simply a instrument used by the administration to pursue practical incorporation. Earlier this month, Smotrich led a march of thousands of colonists in favor of annexation the West Bank. He was quoted as saying, "We are continuing to establish presence with our feet of the territory with many settlers, many heroes, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who live in this part of the land ... we must to normalize it and make it eternal."

The colonists and their backers in the parliament are explicit about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the west hesitate from meaningful penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in June, but the impact of the sanction has been limited. He may not be permitted to travel to the United Kingdom and visit the London's entertainment district, but he still maintains the governmental authority to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the declaration of penalties, the British government highlighted they apply "in his personal capacity" solely.

International Acknowledgment and Reality

If the British administration acknowledges the reality of settler violence and its serious consequences on Palestinian life, why does it still permit settlement produce to be sold in markets and shops in the UK? If Starmer is serious about recognition of Palestine as a state, how come he permit the Israeli government to breach its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the recognition an hollow ploy to silence opposition in the UK, a meaningless act only to be implemented in the relabeling of some maps?

Route Toward Genuine Peace

A just peace must respect the basic rights of the Palestinian people for self-recognition, sovereignty, and freedom from occupation and blockade. Only when every person's dignity across the river and Mediterranean Sea is honored can we genuinely say peace has been achieved.

True peace demands an independent Palestinian nation alongside the Israeli state: this is the sole formula that enjoises consensus among the international community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have applied pressure on the Israeli leader to stop the genocide, but he probably only did so because the burden of his relationship with the isolated government of the Israeli PM had become excessive. The mass protests throughout the world for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the persistent anti-government protests within the country, are the real forces behind this influence.

It is thanks to this massive civil movement that a truce has been signed, the captives freed, and the residents of Gaza can experience protection from destruction. After the truce arrangement has been signed, it is vital to continue applying this pressure. The international community has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in the strip for too long; it must not make the same mistake in the occupied territories.