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Last Monday, amid a joint speech by US President Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, colleague lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state. We were forcibly ejected from the parliamentary assembly, exposing the weak state of what's frequently portrayed as the "only democracy in the Middle East". How can leaders talk about Middle East peace while refusing to recognize a population denied of basic freedoms and rights under long-standing occupation?

The Reality in the West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of peace sound remote and weak, while the frightening echoes of colonist attacks and intimidation continue loudly. More than 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the announcement of the US peace proposal in September's end, including physical assaults, stealing of agricultural produce, and torching of vehicles and property.

Systematic Violence During Harvest Season

The increase in violence by colonists is deliberate. This time signals the beginning of harvest seasons. More than a vital economic activity, it constitutes an important social and cultural occasion that demonstrates resilience under military rule. Exactly for these causes, annually settlers attack Palestinians throughout this precious period. During the last year's agricultural season, human rights organizations recorded 113 separate incidents of aggression, harassment, harvest-thwarting, or damage to olive trees and produce involving settlers and soldiers, which occurred on lands belonging to 51 Palestinian-owned villages, municipalities, and areas.

Israel's security forces seemed to have had a greater role in obstructing the harvesting season

Yesh Din also found that "Israeli military appeared to have had a greater role in obstructing the harvesting season". In approximately 70% of cases where entry to lands was forcibly prevented, troops, border police officers, and settlement security officials were physically on site. They either personally prevented Palestinian farmers from accessing and harvesting their own lands, or failed to stop colonists who harassed or attacked them.

Political Backing for Colonization

This comes as no surprise, as the leader of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra minister in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In one village, for instance, a special military coordination team removed personally-owned olive trees of Palestinians, citing lack of permits, but overlooked violations by an illegal nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the Jerusalem district court ruled to stop all construction in the outpost, which was built on property seized by Israeli authorities and illegally transferred to settlers.

Takeover Goals and Global Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a tool used by the government to pursue practical incorporation. Earlier this month, Smotrich headed a procession of thousands of settlers in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as saying, "We are continuing to take hold with our presence of the territory with numerous settlers, numerous heroes, and countless of colonists who reside in this part of the land ... we need to normalise it and make it eternal."

The colonists and their supporters in the parliament are explicit about their motives and goals. Why, then, do government officials in the Western nations refrain from meaningful sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in June, but the effect 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 enjoys the governmental authority to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of sanctions, the UK highlighted they take place "in his personal capacity" solely.

Global Recognition and Reality

If the UK government acknowledges the reality of settler violence 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 acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a sovereign entity, how come he allow the Israeli administration to breach its sovereignty with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an empty ploy to silence opposition in the United Kingdom, a meaningless act only to be implemented in the rebranding of some maps?

Pathway to True Peace

A just resolution must honor the basic entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-determination, independence, and freedom from military occupation and blockade. Only when each human being's dignity across the river and sea is honored can we truly declare reconciliation has been achieved.

Genuine peace demands an sovereign Palestinian state next to Israel: this is the sole solution that enjoises consensus among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have inflicted pressure on the Israeli leader to stop the genocide, but he probably only did so because the burden of his connection with the isolated government of the Israeli PM had become excessive. The large demonstrations throughout the globe for the liberation of Palestine, and the persistent opposition demonstrations inside the country, are the actual forces behind this pressure.

It is due to this enormous public campaign that a ceasefire has been signed, the hostages released, and the people of the territory can experience safeguard from destruction. Following the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is crucial to continue maintaining this pressure. The international community has turned a blind eye to the violence in the strip for too long; it must not repeat the same mistake in the West Bank.