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Last week, amid a joint speech by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, fellow lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner urging the recognition of Palestine. We were violently removed from the parliamentary session, exposing the fragile condition of what's frequently portrayed as the "only democracy in the region". How can leaders speak about regional peace while declining to recognize a people deprived of fundamental freedoms and rights under decades-long military control?

The Situation in the West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more evident than in the controlled West Bank. There, talk of peace seem remote and weak, while the frightening echoes of settler violence and intimidation continue loudly. More than 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the announcement of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in September's end, featuring physical assaults, stealing of agricultural produce, and burning of vehicles and belongings.

Targeted Violence During Harvest Season

The increase in settler terrorism is deliberate. This period marks the beginning of agricultural harvesting. Beyond a vital economic event, it constitutes an significant communal and national occasion that demonstrates endurance under occupation. Exactly for these reasons, year after year settlers target Palestinians during this precious period. During the last year's agricultural period, rights groups recorded 113 separate incidents of aggression, harassment, preventing harvesting, or damage to olive trees and produce involving settlers and military personnel, which took place on lands belonging to 51 Palestinian-owned villages, towns, and areas.

Israeli security forces appeared to have played a larger role in obstructing the olive harvest

The human rights group also found that "Israeli military seemed to have played a larger role in obstructing the harvesting season". In about 70% of instances where access to lands was violently prevented, soldiers, border guards, and settler security officials were actually on site. They either directly prevented Palestinian farmers from reaching and gathering their property, or neglected to prevent settlers who harassed or attacked them.

Government Support for Colonization

This comes as no shock, as the head of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an additional minister in the Ministry of Defence in charge of the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a particular military coordination team uprooted personally-owned olive trees of Palestinians, claiming lack of permits, but ignored infractions by an illegal adjacent colonist encampment. Last week, the local court ruled to halt all building work in the encampment, which was built on property seized by Israeli authorities and unlawfully transferred to settlers.

Takeover Goals and Global Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, settler terrorism is simply a tool used by the administration to pursue practical annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich led a march of thousands of settlers in support of annexation the West Bank. He was reported as stating, "We are continuing to take hold with our presence of the territory with many pioneers, numerous heroes, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who reside in this area of the territory ... we need to normalize it and make it eternal."

The colonists and their backers in the Knesset are clear about their intentions and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the west hesitate from meaningful penalties and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in the summer, but the impact of the sanction has been limited. He may not be able to travel to the United Kingdom and visit the West End, but he still maintains the governmental authority to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the declaration of sanctions, the UK highlighted they apply "in his personal capacity" only.

International Acknowledgment and Reality

If the British administration recognizes the reality of colonist aggression and its grave implications on Palestinian life, why does it still allow settlement produce to be sold in stores and outlets in the UK? If the British leader is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a sovereign entity, how can he permit the Israeli administration to breach its sovereignty with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an empty tactic to shut down opposition in the United Kingdom, a hollow gesture only to be implemented in the rebranding of some cartographic representations?

Route Toward True Peace

A fair resolution must honor the basic rights of the Palestinian people for self-recognition, sovereignty, and freedom from occupation and siege. Only when each person's worth across the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we truly declare peace has been achieved.

True peace requires an sovereign Palestinian state next to Israel: this is the only formula that enjoises consensus among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have inflicted pressure on Netanyahu to stop the violence, but he probably only did so because the burden of his relationship with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become excessive. The large demonstrations across the world for the freedom of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering opposition demonstrations inside Israel, are the real forces behind this pressure.

It is due to this enormous public campaign that a ceasefire has been agreed, the captives released, and the residents of Gaza can enjoy protection from annihilation. Following the truce arrangement has been signed, it is crucial to continue maintaining this pressure. The world has turned a blind eye to the violence in the strip for many years; it must not repeat the same error in the occupied territories.