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Last Monday, during a joint speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, colleague parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner calling for the acknowledgment of the Palestinian state. We were violently ejected from the legislative assembly, revealing the weak state of what's frequently portrayed as the "only democratic state in the region". How can leaders talk about Middle East peace while refusing to acknowledge a population deprived of basic liberties and entitlements under decades-long occupation?

The Reality in the Occupied West Bank

In no place is the deceit more apparent than in the occupied West Bank. There, words of reconciliation seem distant and weak, while the frightening echoes of settler violence and terror continue loudly. More than 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been recorded since the unveiling of the Trump administration's peace proposal in September's end, featuring attacks, theft of agricultural produce, and torching of cars and belongings.

Systematic Aggression During Agricultural Period

The increase in settler terrorism is deliberate. This time marks the beginning of harvest seasons. More than a vital economic event, it constitutes an significant communal and cultural occasion that shows endurance under military rule. Exactly for these reasons, annually settlers attack Palestinian farmers during this crucial time. During the 2024 harvest season, human rights organizations recorded 113 distinct cases of violence, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or damage to olive trees and produce by settlers and military personnel, which took place on territories owned by 51 Palestinian villages, towns, and communities.

Israel's military appeared to have played a larger part in hindering the harvesting season

Yesh Din also found that "Israeli security forces appeared to have had a larger part in hindering the harvesting season". In about 70% of instances where entry to farmland was violently prevented, troops, border guards, and settlement security officials were actually present. They either personally prevented Palestinians from reaching and gathering their own lands, or failed to prevent colonists who harassed or assaulted them.

Political Backing for Colonization

This is no shock, 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 territorial coordination unit. In one village, for instance, a particular military coordination team removed private olive trees of Palestinians, claiming lack of permits, but overlooked infractions by an unauthorized nearby settler outpost. Last week, the local court decided to stop all construction in the encampment, which was built on lands taken by Israeli authorities and unlawfully transferred to colonists.

Annexation Ambitions and International Response

In the controlled West Bank, settler terrorism is simply a tool used by the government to pursue de-facto annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich headed a procession of thousands of colonists in support of annexation the West Bank. He was reported as stating, "We persist to establish presence with our presence of the territory with numerous pioneers, numerous champions, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who reside in this part of the territory ... we need to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their supporters in the parliament are explicit about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do government officials in the west refrain from meaningful sanctions and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the United Kingdom in the summer, but the effect of the sanction has been limited. He may not be able to go to the United Kingdom and visit the West End, but he still maintains the ministerial power to take lands in the West Bank. Even in the declaration of penalties, the UK emphasized they take place "in his personal capacity" only.

International Recognition and Reality

If the British administration acknowledges the reality of settler violence and its grave consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit goods from settlements to be marketed in stores and outlets in the UK? If Starmer is serious about recognition of Palestine as a state, how come he permit the Israeli administration to breach its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the recognition an hollow tactic to shut down opposition in the United Kingdom, a meaningless gesture only to be realised in the rebranding of some maps?

Pathway to True Resolution

A fair resolution must respect the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people for self-determination, independence, and freedom from military occupation and siege. Only when every person's worth across the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea is honored can we genuinely say reconciliation has been achieved.

Genuine peace requires an independent Palestinian nation next to the Israeli state: this is the only solution that has consensus among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have applied influence on the Israeli leader to stop the genocide, but he likely only did so because the strain of his connection with the pariah regime of the Israeli PM had become too great. The mass protests across the globe for the liberation of Palestine, and the unwavering opposition protests within Israel, are the actual forces behind this influence.

It is due to this massive public campaign that a ceasefire has been signed, the captives freed, and the people of Gaza can experience safeguard from annihilation. After the truce arrangement has been finalized, it is crucial to continue applying this pressure. The international community has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in the strip for many years; it must not repeat the same error in the occupied territories.