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Last Monday, amid a combined speech by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, fellow parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner calling for the acknowledgment of Palestine. We were forcibly ejected from the legislative session, exposing the weak condition of what's often described as the "only democracy in the Middle East". How can officials talk about regional peace while refusing to recognize a people denied of fundamental freedoms and rights under long-standing occupation?

The Situation in the West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more evident than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of reconciliation sound remote and weak, while the terrifying sounds of settler violence and terror persist loudly. Over 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been documented since the unveiling of the US peace proposal in September's end, including physical assaults, stealing of crops, and burning of vehicles and belongings.

Systematic Violence During Harvest Season

The rise in violence by colonists is deliberate. This period marks the beginning of harvest seasons. Beyond a crucial economic activity, it constitutes an significant communal and cultural moment that demonstrates resilience under military rule. Precisely for these reasons, annually colonists attack Palestinians throughout this precious time. During the last year's agricultural period, human rights organizations documented 113 distinct incidents of violence, harassment, harvest-thwarting, or destruction to olive groves and produce involving Israeli civilians and soldiers, which occurred on territories belonging to 51 Palestinian-owned villages, municipalities, and communities.

Israeli security forces seemed to have played a larger part in obstructing the olive harvest

The human rights group also discovered that "Israel's military appeared to have had a greater part in obstructing the olive harvest". In about 70% of cases where entry to lands was forcibly blocked, troops, border guards, and settler civilian security coordinators were physically present. They either directly stopped Palestinian farmers from accessing and gathering their property, or failed to stop settlers who threatened or assaulted them.

Political Support for Colonization

This comes as no surprise, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an additional official in the Defense Ministry in charge of the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a particular military coordination team removed personally-owned olive trees of Palestinians, citing missing documentation, but ignored violations by an unauthorized adjacent colonist encampment. Last week, the local court ruled to stop all building work in the outpost, which was built on lands taken by Israel and unlawfully given to colonists.

Takeover Ambitions and Global Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, settler terrorism is simply a tool used by the administration to achieve practical annexation. Recently, Smotrich headed a march of thousands of colonists in support of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We are continuing to establish presence with our feet of the territory with numerous settlers, many heroes, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who reside in this part of the territory ... we need to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their supporters in the parliament are explicit about their intentions and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations hesitate from substantial sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was penalized by the United Kingdom in June, but the impact of the penalty has been limited. He may not be permitted to travel to the United Kingdom and tour the West End, but he still maintains the ministerial power to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the declaration of penalties, the British government emphasized they apply "personally" solely.

International Recognition and Actual Situation

If the British administration recognizes the truth of settler violence and its serious consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit goods from settlements to be sold in markets and shops in the UK? If Starmer is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how come he allow the Israeli administration to violate its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the acknowledgment an empty ploy to silence dissenting voices in the UK, a meaningless gesture only to be implemented in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to Genuine Peace

A just peace must honor the basic entitlements of the Palestinian population for self-recognition, sovereignty, and freedom from military occupation and blockade. Only when every person's dignity between the Jordan River and sea is honored can we truly declare peace has been attained.

True resolution requires an independent Palestinian state next to the Israeli state: this is the only formula that has consensus among the global community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace advocates.

The former US president may have inflicted influence on the Israeli leader to halt the genocide, but he likely only did so because the burden of his relationship with the pariah regime of the Israeli PM had become excessive. The large demonstrations across the world for the liberation of Palestine, and the persistent anti-government protests inside the country, are the actual forces behind this pressure.

It is thanks to this enormous civil movement that a truce has been agreed, the hostages freed, and the people of Gaza can enjoy safeguard from destruction. After the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is vital to continue applying this influence. The international community has ignored to the violence in Gaza for too long; it must not make the same mistake in the occupied territories.