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Last week, amid a joint speech by US President Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, fellow lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I raised a banner urging the acknowledgment of the Palestinian state. We were forcibly removed from the parliamentary session, exposing the fragile state of what's often portrayed as the "sole democratic state in the region". How can leaders speak about regional peace while declining to recognize a population deprived of fundamental freedoms and entitlements under decades-long occupation?

The Situation in the West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more apparent than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of peace sound remote and faint, while the terrifying echoes of colonist attacks and terror persist loudly. More than 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the unveiling of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in September's end, featuring attacks, stealing of agricultural produce, and burning of vehicles and property.

Systematic Violence During Agricultural Period

The increase in settler terrorism is deliberate. This period marks the beginning of harvest seasons. More than a vital economic activity, it represents an important communal and national occasion that demonstrates endurance under occupation. Precisely for these causes, year after year settlers attack Palestinian farmers during this precious period. During the 2024 harvest season, human rights organizations documented 113 distinct cases of aggression, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or destruction to olive groves and produce by settlers and soldiers, which took place on territories owned by 51 Palestinian-owned communities, towns, and communities.

Israel's military seemed to have played a greater part in hindering the olive harvest

Yesh Din also found that "Israeli security forces seemed to have played a greater role in hindering the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of instances where access to farmland was violently blocked, soldiers, border guards, and settler security officials were actually on site. They either directly stopped Palestinians from accessing and gathering their own lands, or neglected to prevent colonists who threatened or assaulted them.

Government Backing for Settler Activities

This is no surprise, as the head of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional minister in the Ministry of Defence in charge of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In Umm al-Khair, for instance, a particular military coordination team uprooted private olive trees of local residents, claiming lack of permits, but ignored infractions by an unauthorized adjacent colonist encampment. Last week, the local court ruled to stop all construction in the encampment, which was constructed on property taken by Israeli authorities and illegally transferred to colonists.

Takeover Goals and Global Response

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a instrument used by the government to pursue de-facto incorporation. Recently, Smotrich headed a march of thousands of colonists in support of annexation the West Bank. He was quoted as saying, "We persist to establish presence with our feet of the territory with numerous settlers, many heroes, and countless of colonists who reside in this area of the territory ... we need to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their supporters in the Knesset are explicit about their intentions and intentions. Why, then, do government officials in the Western nations hesitate from substantial penalties and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in June, but the impact of the sanction has been limited. He may not be able to travel to the United Kingdom and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the ministerial power to seize territories in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of penalties, the British government highlighted they apply "in his personal capacity" solely.

Global Acknowledgment and Actual Situation

If the UK government acknowledges the reality of colonist aggression and its serious implications on Palestinian life, why does it still permit goods from settlements to be sold in stores and shops in Britain? If Starmer is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a state, how come he allow the Israeli government to violate its independence with such violent means? Or was the acknowledgment an empty tactic to silence dissenting voices in the United Kingdom, a hollow gesture only to be implemented in the rebranding of some maps?

Pathway to True Resolution

A just resolution must respect the basic entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-determination, independence, and liberty from military occupation and blockade. Only when every human being's worth between the river and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we truly declare peace has been attained.

Genuine resolution requires an independent Palestinian state next to the Israeli state: this is the only solution that enjoises consensus among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have applied pressure on Netanyahu to stop the genocide, but he probably only did so because the strain of his connection with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become too great. The large demonstrations across the world for the freedom of Palestine, and the unwavering anti-government protests inside Israel, are the actual factors behind this influence.

It is thanks to this enormous civil movement that a truce has been signed, the hostages freed, and the residents of the territory can experience protection from destruction. Following the truce arrangement has been signed, it is crucial to continue applying this influence. The international community has ignored to the atrocities in Gaza for many years; it must not repeat the same mistake in the West Bank.