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Last Monday, amid a joint address by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, fellow lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign urging the acknowledgment of Palestine. We were violently ejected from the legislative assembly, exposing the fragile state of what's frequently portrayed as the "sole democratic state in the region". How can officials talk about regional peace while refusing to acknowledge a people deprived of basic liberties and rights under decades-long occupation?

The Situation in the Occupied West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more apparent than in the controlled West Bank. There, talk of peace seem distant and faint, while the frightening echoes of settler violence and terror continue strongly. Over 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been recorded since the unveiling of the US 20-point plan in September's end, including physical assaults, stealing of agricultural produce, and torching of vehicles and belongings.

Systematic Violence During Harvest Season

The rise in violence by colonists is deliberate. This time signals the beginning of agricultural harvesting. More than a vital economic event, it represents an important social and cultural occasion that demonstrates endurance under military rule. Precisely for these causes, year after year colonists attack Palestinians throughout this crucial time. During the last year's agricultural season, human rights organizations documented 113 separate incidents of aggression, intimidation, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive trees and crops by settlers and military personnel, which occurred on lands owned by 51 Palestinian-owned villages, municipalities, and communities.

Israel's military appeared to have played a greater role in obstructing the harvesting season

Yesh Din also found that "Israel's security forces appeared to have had a greater part in hindering the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of instances where entry to farmland was violently blocked, soldiers, border guards, and settler security officials were physically on site. They either directly prevented Palestinians from reaching and harvesting their own lands, or neglected to stop settlers who harassed or attacked them.

Political Backing for Settler Activities

This is no surprise, as the head of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional official in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In one village, for instance, a special military coordination team removed private olive plants of Palestinians, citing missing documentation, but ignored infractions by an unauthorized adjacent colonist encampment. Last week, the local court decided to stop all building work in the outpost, which was built on property seized by Israel and illegally given to colonists.

Annexation Goals and International Response

In the occupied West Bank, settler terrorism is nothing but a instrument used by the government to pursue practical annexation. Recently, Smotrich headed a march of many of colonists in support of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as saying, "We persist to establish presence with our feet of the territory with numerous pioneers, many heroes, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who reside in this part of the land ... we must to normalize it and make it eternal."

The settlers and their backers in the Knesset are explicit about their intentions and goals. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations refrain from substantial sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in June, but the impact of the sanction has been minimal. He may not be permitted to travel to the UK and visit the West End, but he still maintains the governmental authority to seize lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the declaration of sanctions, the British government emphasized they apply "personally" only.

Global Recognition and Actual Situation

If the UK government recognizes the reality of settler violence and its serious implications on Palestinian life, why does it still allow settlement produce to be sold in stores and shops in Britain? If Starmer is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a state, how come he permit the Israeli administration to violate its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the acknowledgment an empty ploy to shut down opposition in the United Kingdom, a hollow gesture only to be implemented in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to True Resolution

A just peace must respect the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-determination, independence, and liberty from occupation and blockade. Only when each human being's dignity between the Jordan River and sea is respected can we truly declare peace has been attained.

Genuine peace demands an sovereign Palestinian nation alongside Israel: this is the only solution that enjoises consensus among the international community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace advocates.

The former US president may have applied 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 freedom of Palestine, and the persistent opposition protests inside the country, are the real forces behind this influence.

It is thanks to this enormous public campaign that a truce has been agreed, the hostages released, and the residents of the territory can experience safeguard from annihilation. Following the truce arrangement has been finalized, it is vital to keep applying this pressure. The world has ignored to the violence in the strip for many years; it must not repeat the same mistake in the occupied territories.