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Last Monday, amid a combined address by American leader Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, fellow parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I raised a sign urging the acknowledgment of Palestine. We were violently removed from the legislative assembly, exposing the fragile condition of what's often described as the "sole democracy in the region". How can leaders talk about Middle East peace while refusing to acknowledge a people denied of basic liberties and entitlements under decades-long military control?

The Situation in the West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation seem remote and faint, while the terrifying echoes of colonist attacks and terror persist loudly. Over 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinians have been recorded since the announcement of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in September's end, featuring attacks, stealing of crops, and torching of vehicles and property.

Systematic Aggression During Harvest Season

The increase in violence by colonists is deliberate. This period signals the beginning of harvest seasons. Beyond a crucial economic activity, it constitutes an important communal and cultural occasion that demonstrates resilience under occupation. Precisely for these causes, annually settlers target Palestinian farmers throughout this precious time. During the last year's agricultural season, human rights organizations documented 113 separate incidents of violence, intimidation, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive trees and produce by Israeli civilians and soldiers, which took place on lands belonging to 51 Palestinian-owned communities, municipalities, and areas.

Israel's security forces appeared to have played a larger part in hindering the olive harvest

The human rights group also discovered that "Israel's security forces seemed to have played a greater role in hindering the harvesting season". In about 70% of instances where entry to lands was forcibly blocked, troops, border guards, and settlement security officials were physically on site. They either directly prevented Palestinian farmers from accessing and harvesting their own lands, or failed to prevent settlers who threatened or attacked them.

Political Support for Settler Activities

This comes as no shock, as the head of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra minister in the Defense Ministry in charge of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In one village, for example, a special COGAT unit uprooted private olive trees of Palestinians, citing missing documentation, but ignored infractions by an unauthorized nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the Jerusalem district court decided to halt all building work in the outpost, which was built on property seized by Israel and unlawfully transferred to colonists.

Annexation Goals and International Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, settler terrorism is nothing but a instrument used by the administration to pursue de-facto annexation. Recently, Smotrich led a march of many of colonists in favor of annexation the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We are continuing to establish presence with our presence of the territory with numerous settlers, numerous champions, and countless of settlers 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 intentions and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the west refrain from meaningful sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in the summer, but the impact of the penalty has been minimal. He may not be able to travel to the United Kingdom and visit the West End, but he still maintains the ministerial power to take territories in the West Bank. Even in the declaration of penalties, the British government highlighted they take place "in his personal capacity" solely.

Global Recognition and Reality

If the UK government recognizes the reality of colonist aggression and its serious consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit settlement produce to be sold in stores and outlets in Britain? If Starmer is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a state, how can he allow the Israeli government to breach its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the recognition an empty ploy to silence opposition in the United Kingdom, a meaningless act only to be realised in the rebranding of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to Genuine Peace

A fair peace must honor the basic rights of the Palestinian people for self-determination, independence, and freedom from military occupation and siege. Only when each person's worth across the river and sea is respected can we truly say reconciliation has been achieved.

Genuine peace requires an sovereign Palestinian nation alongside the Israeli state: this is the sole solution that has consensus among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace advocates.

The former US president may have inflicted pressure on the Israeli leader to halt the genocide, but he probably only did so because the burden of his relationship with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become too great. The mass protests throughout the globe for the liberation of Palestine, and the unwavering anti-government protests within Israel, are the real factors behind this pressure.

It is due to this enormous civil movement that a ceasefire has been signed, the captives released, and the residents of Gaza can enjoy safeguard from destruction. Following the truce arrangement has been signed, it is vital to continue applying this pressure. The international community has ignored to the violence in the strip for too long; it must not make the same error in the occupied territories.