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Last week, during a joint address by US President Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, fellow parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I raised a sign calling for the acknowledgment of Palestine. We were forcibly ejected from the legislative assembly, exposing the weak state of what's frequently portrayed as the "only democratic state in the Middle East". How can leaders talk about Middle East peace while declining to recognize a people denied of fundamental freedoms and rights under long-standing military control?

The Reality in the West Bank

Nowhere is the deceit more apparent than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation seem remote and faint, while the frightening sounds of settler violence and intimidation continue loudly. Over 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been recorded since the unveiling of the US peace proposal in late September, featuring attacks, theft of agricultural produce, and torching of vehicles and belongings.

Targeted Violence During Harvest Season

The rise in violence by colonists is deliberate. This period marks the start of agricultural harvesting. More than a crucial economic event, it constitutes an significant communal and cultural occasion that demonstrates resilience under military rule. Precisely for these causes, annually settlers attack Palestinians during this crucial time. During the last year's agricultural season, rights groups recorded 113 distinct incidents of violence, harassment, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive groves and crops involving settlers and military personnel, which took place on territories owned by 51 Palestinian communities, towns, and areas.

Israel's security forces seemed to have had a larger part in obstructing the olive harvest

Yesh Din also found that "Israeli military appeared to have played a larger part in hindering the olive harvest". In about 70% of cases where entry to farmland was forcibly blocked, soldiers, border police officers, and settler security officials were actually on site. They either personally stopped Palestinians from reaching and gathering their own lands, or failed to prevent colonists who harassed or assaulted them.

Government Backing for Colonization

This comes as no shock, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra minister in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In Umm al-Khair, for instance, a special COGAT unit removed private olive trees of Palestinians, citing missing documentation, but overlooked violations by an illegal adjacent settler outpost. Last week, the Jerusalem district court decided to stop all construction in the encampment, which was constructed on property seized by Israeli authorities and illegally given to settlers.

Takeover Ambitions and Global Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, settler terrorism is nothing but a instrument used by the administration to pursue de-facto annexation. Recently, Smotrich headed a procession of thousands of colonists in favor of annexation the West Bank. He was reported as stating, "We persist to establish presence with our feet of the territory with many settlers, numerous heroes, and countless of colonists who reside in this area of the land ... we must to normalize it and make it eternal."

The colonists and their supporters in the parliament are clear about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do government officials in the west refrain from substantial sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in June, but the effect of the sanction has been minimal. He may not be permitted to travel to the UK and visit the West End, but he still enjoys the ministerial power to take lands in the West Bank. Even in the announcement of penalties, the British government emphasized they take place "in his personal capacity" only.

Global Recognition and Actual Situation

If the British administration acknowledges the reality of settler violence and its serious implications on Palestinian existence, why does it still allow settlement produce to be sold in stores and outlets in the UK? If the British leader is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how can he allow the Israeli government to breach its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an hollow ploy to silence dissenting voices in the UK, a hollow act only to be implemented in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Route Toward True Peace

A just resolution must honor the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people for self-determination, sovereignty, and freedom from military occupation and siege. Only when each person's worth between the Jordan River and sea is honored can we genuinely declare peace has been achieved.

Genuine resolution demands an sovereign Palestinian nation next to Israel: this is the only solution that enjoises consensus among the international community, the Palestinian leadership, 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 connection with the isolated government of the Israeli PM had become too great. The large demonstrations throughout the globe for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering anti-government protests inside the country, are the actual factors behind this pressure.

It is due to this enormous public campaign that a ceasefire has been signed, the hostages released, and the residents of Gaza can enjoy protection from destruction. Following the truce arrangement has been signed, it is vital to keep applying this pressure. The international community has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in the strip for many years; it must not repeat the same error in the occupied territories.