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Last week, amid a joint address by US President Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, colleague parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner urging the acknowledgment of Palestine. We were forcibly removed from the parliamentary assembly, revealing the fragile state of what's frequently described as the "sole democracy in the Middle East". How can leaders talk about Middle East peace while declining to recognize a people deprived of fundamental liberties and rights under decades-long occupation?

The Situation in the West Bank

Nowhere is the deceit more evident than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of reconciliation sound distant and weak, while the frightening echoes of colonist attacks and terror persist loudly. More than 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been recorded since the unveiling of the US 20-point plan in September's end, featuring attacks, stealing of agricultural produce, and burning of cars and belongings.

Systematic Violence During Harvest Season

The increase in settler terrorism is deliberate. This period marks the start of harvest seasons. More than a crucial economic activity, it constitutes an significant communal and national moment that demonstrates endurance under military rule. Precisely for these reasons, annually colonists attack Palestinians throughout this precious time. During the last year's agricultural season, human rights organizations recorded 113 separate cases of violence, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or damage to olive groves and produce by settlers and soldiers, which occurred on lands belonging to 51 Palestinian villages, towns, and areas.

Israel's military seemed to have played a larger role in hindering the harvesting season

Yesh Din also found that "Israeli military appeared to have played a larger part in hindering the harvesting season". In about 70% of instances where access to lands was violently blocked, soldiers, border police officers, and settlement civilian security coordinators were physically on site. They either directly stopped Palestinians from reaching and harvesting their own lands, or failed to prevent colonists who threatened or assaulted them.

Political Backing for Settler Activities

This comes as no surprise, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra minister in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a special military coordination team uprooted personally-owned olive plants of Palestinians, claiming lack of permits, but ignored infractions by an unauthorized nearby settler outpost. Last week, the local court decided to stop all building work in the outpost, which was built on lands taken by Israeli authorities and unlawfully transferred to colonists.

Takeover Ambitions and International Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a tool used by the government to achieve practical annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich led a march of thousands of settlers in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as stating, "We are continuing to establish presence with our feet of the Land of Israel with numerous pioneers, many heroes, and hundreds of thousands of settlers who live in this part of the land ... we need to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their backers in the Knesset are clear about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the west hesitate from substantial sanctions and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in the summer, but the effect of the penalty has been limited. He may not be able to go to the United Kingdom and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the ministerial power to take lands in the West Bank. Even in the announcement of sanctions, the British government emphasized they take place "in his personal capacity" solely.

Global Acknowledgment and Reality

If the British administration recognizes the reality of colonist aggression and its grave implications on Palestinian life, why does it still permit settlement produce to be marketed in stores and shops in Britain? If Starmer is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how come he permit the Israeli administration to breach its independence with such violent means? Or was the acknowledgment an hollow tactic to shut down opposition in the United Kingdom, a meaningless gesture only to be implemented in the rebranding of some maps?

Route Toward Genuine Resolution

A fair peace must honor the basic entitlements of the Palestinian population for self-determination, sovereignty, and liberty from occupation and blockade. Only when each person's worth between the river and sea is honored can we truly declare peace has been achieved.

Genuine resolution demands an independent Palestinian nation alongside Israel: this is the only solution that has agreement among the international community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace advocates.

Trump may have applied pressure on the Israeli leader to stop the violence, but he likely only did so because the strain of his relationship with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become too great. The large demonstrations across the world for the freedom of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering anti-government protests within the country, are the actual forces behind this pressure.

It is thanks to this massive public campaign that a truce has been agreed, the hostages freed, and the residents of the territory can experience safeguard from annihilation. Following the truce arrangement has been signed, it is vital to keep applying this influence. The international community has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in Gaza for too long; it must not repeat the same error in the West Bank.