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Last week, amid a joint speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, fellow parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state. We were violently removed from the legislative session, revealing the fragile state of what's often portrayed as the "sole democratic state in the Middle East". How can leaders speak about Middle East peace while refusing to acknowledge a population deprived of basic liberties and rights under long-standing occupation?

The Reality in the Occupied West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more apparent than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of peace sound distant and faint, while the frightening sounds of settler violence and terror persist loudly. More than 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been recorded since the unveiling of the US peace proposal in late September, featuring attacks, stealing of agricultural produce, and burning of cars and property.

Targeted Violence During Agricultural Period

The increase in settler terrorism is deliberate. This time marks the start of agricultural harvesting. Beyond a vital economic activity, it constitutes an significant communal and national moment that demonstrates resilience under military rule. Precisely for these reasons, year after year settlers target Palestinians during this crucial period. During the 2024 harvest period, human rights organizations recorded 113 distinct cases of aggression, harassment, preventing harvesting, or damage to olive trees and produce involving Israeli civilians and military personnel, which took place on territories owned by 51 Palestinian-owned communities, municipalities, and areas.

Israeli military seemed to have had a greater part in obstructing the harvesting season

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israel's military appeared to have had a larger role in hindering the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of instances where entry to farmland was forcibly prevented, soldiers, border police officers, and settlement security officials were physically on site. They either directly stopped Palestinian farmers from accessing and harvesting their own lands, or failed to stop settlers who threatened or attacked them.

Political Support for Settler Activities

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 one village, for instance, a particular COGAT unit removed personally-owned olive trees of local residents, citing missing documentation, but overlooked infractions by an unauthorized nearby settler outpost. Last week, the local court decided to halt all building work in the outpost, which was constructed on property taken by Israel and illegally transferred to settlers.

Annexation Ambitions and Global Response

In the controlled West Bank, settler terrorism is simply a instrument used by the government to pursue practical annexation. Recently, Smotrich led a procession of many of colonists in support of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as stating, "We persist to take hold with our presence of the territory with numerous settlers, many champions, and countless of colonists who live in this part of the land ... we must to normalize it and make it eternal."

The settlers and their supporters in the Knesset are explicit about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the west refrain from substantial penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in June, but the impact of the sanction has been limited. He may not be permitted to go 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. Even in the declaration of penalties, the British government highlighted they apply "personally" solely.

International Recognition and Reality

If the British administration acknowledges the reality of colonist aggression and its grave implications on Palestinian existence, why does it still allow goods from settlements to be sold in markets and outlets in the UK? If Starmer is serious about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how can he permit the Israeli administration to violate its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the recognition an empty ploy to silence opposition in the UK, a hollow act only to be realised in the rebranding of some cartographic representations?

Route Toward Genuine Resolution

A just peace must respect the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian population for self-determination, independence, and freedom from occupation and blockade. Only when each human being's dignity across the river and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we truly declare reconciliation has been achieved.

Genuine resolution requires an independent Palestinian nation alongside Israel: this is the sole solution that has 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 violence, but he likely only did so because the burden of his relationship with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become too great. The mass protests throughout the globe for the liberation of Palestine, and the unwavering opposition demonstrations inside the country, are the actual factors behind this influence.

It is due to this massive public campaign that a ceasefire has been agreed, the hostages freed, and the residents of Gaza can experience protection from annihilation. After the truce arrangement has been signed, it is crucial to keep applying this influence. The international community has ignored to the violence in Gaza for many years; it must not make the same mistake in the West Bank.