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Last week, amid a combined address by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, colleague lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I raised a sign urging the acknowledgment of the Palestinian state. We were violently removed from the legislative assembly, exposing the fragile condition of what's frequently portrayed as the "only democracy in the region". How can officials speak about regional peace while refusing to recognize a population denied of basic liberties and entitlements under decades-long military control?

The Reality in the West Bank

Nowhere is the hypocrisy more apparent than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation seem distant and faint, while the terrifying sounds of colonist attacks and intimidation continue strongly. Over 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the unveiling of the US 20-point plan in September's end, featuring physical assaults, theft of agricultural produce, and burning of cars and property.

Targeted Aggression During Agricultural Period

The rise in settler terrorism is not coincidental. This period marks the start of agricultural harvesting. Beyond a crucial economic event, it constitutes an important social and cultural moment that demonstrates resilience under occupation. Precisely for these reasons, year after year settlers target Palestinian farmers throughout this precious time. During the last year's agricultural season, rights groups documented 113 separate cases of aggression, harassment, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive trees and crops by Israeli civilians and soldiers, which occurred on territories belonging to 51 Palestinian-owned villages, municipalities, and areas.

Israel's security forces seemed to have played a larger part in hindering the olive harvest

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israeli security forces seemed to have played a larger role in obstructing the olive harvest". In about 70% of cases where entry to lands was violently prevented, troops, border police officers, and settler security officials were physically on site. They either directly stopped Palestinian farmers from reaching and gathering their property, or failed to stop settlers who threatened or attacked them.

Political Backing for Settler Activities

This is no shock, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an extra official in the Defense Ministry responsible for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a special COGAT unit removed personally-owned olive plants of local residents, citing lack of permits, but ignored violations by an unauthorized adjacent colonist encampment. Last week, the Jerusalem district court decided to halt all building work in the encampment, which was constructed on lands seized by Israeli authorities and illegally transferred to settlers.

Takeover Ambitions and Global Response

In the controlled West Bank, settler terrorism is simply a tool used by the administration to pursue practical annexation. Recently, Smotrich headed a procession of many of settlers in support of annexation the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We persist to establish presence with our feet of the territory with many settlers, many heroes, and countless of settlers who live in this part of the land ... we need to normalize it and make it eternal."

The settlers and their supporters in the parliament are clear about their intentions and goals. Why, then, do government officials in the Western nations hesitate from meaningful penalties and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in the summer, but the impact of the penalty has been limited. He may not be able to go to the UK and visit the West End, but he still enjoys the ministerial power to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of sanctions, the British government highlighted they apply "personally" solely.

Global Acknowledgment and Reality

If the British administration acknowledges the truth of settler violence and its serious implications on Palestinian existence, why does it still allow goods from settlements to be sold in markets and shops in the UK? If the British leader is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how come he allow the Israeli government to breach its sovereignty with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an hollow tactic to shut down dissenting voices in the United Kingdom, a hollow gesture only to be realised in the relabeling of some maps?

Route Toward Genuine Resolution

A just peace must respect the basic rights of the Palestinian population for self-determination, independence, and freedom from occupation and siege. Only when each person's worth between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea is honored can we truly declare reconciliation has been attained.

True peace requires an independent Palestinian nation alongside the Israeli state: this is the sole solution that has agreement among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace advocates.

Trump may have inflicted influence on Netanyahu to stop the genocide, but he probably 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 Palestinian territories, and the unwavering opposition protests inside the country, are the actual forces behind this influence.

It is thanks to this enormous civil movement that a truce has been signed, the captives freed, and the residents of the territory can enjoy protection from annihilation. Following the truce arrangement has been signed, it is vital to continue maintaining this influence. The international community has ignored to the violence in Gaza for too long; it must not make the same error in the occupied territories.