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Last week, during a combined speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, colleague lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I raised a sign calling for the recognition of Palestine. We were violently removed from the parliamentary assembly, revealing the fragile condition of what's frequently described as the "sole democratic state in the Middle East". How can officials speak about Middle East peace while refusing to acknowledge a population deprived of basic freedoms and entitlements under long-standing military control?

The Situation in the West Bank

Nowhere is the hypocrisy more apparent than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation sound distant and weak, while the terrifying echoes of colonist attacks and terror persist loudly. More than 30 incidents of settler aggression 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 crops, and burning of cars and belongings.

Systematic Aggression During Agricultural Period

The rise in violence by colonists is not coincidental. This time marks the start of agricultural harvesting. More than a vital economic activity, it constitutes an important communal and cultural occasion that shows endurance under military rule. Exactly for these causes, year after year colonists target Palestinians throughout this precious time. During the last year's agricultural period, rights groups recorded 113 separate incidents of violence, harassment, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive trees and crops by Israeli civilians and military personnel, which took place on lands owned by 51 Palestinian-owned communities, towns, and communities.

Israel's military seemed to have had a larger part in hindering the olive harvest

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israel's security forces seemed to have played a larger part in obstructing the harvesting season". In about 70% of instances where entry to farmland was violently blocked, troops, border guards, and settler security officials were physically present. They either personally prevented Palestinian farmers from accessing and gathering their own lands, or failed to prevent settlers who threatened or attacked them.

Political Support for Colonization

This is no shock, as the head of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an additional official in the Ministry of Defence in charge of the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for instance, a particular COGAT unit uprooted private olive plants of local residents, citing lack of permits, but ignored infractions by an unauthorized nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the Jerusalem district court decided to halt all building work in the encampment, which was built on property taken by Israel and unlawfully given to settlers.

Takeover Ambitions and Global Response

In the occupied West Bank, settler terrorism is nothing but a instrument used by the government to pursue de-facto annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich led a march of many of settlers in support of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as stating, "We are continuing to take hold with our feet of the Land of Israel with numerous settlers, numerous heroes, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who reside in this area of the territory ... we need to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their backers in the parliament are explicit about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the west refrain from meaningful sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in June, but the effect of the penalty has been limited. He may not be permitted to travel to the UK and visit the London's entertainment district, but he still maintains the ministerial power to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the declaration of sanctions, the UK emphasized they apply "in his personal capacity" solely.

Global Acknowledgment and Reality

If the British administration recognizes the reality of settler violence and its serious implications on Palestinian life, why does it still allow goods from settlements to be marketed in markets and outlets in Britain? If the British leader is serious about recognition of Palestine as a state, how can he allow the Israeli government to violate its sovereignty with such violent means? Or was the acknowledgment an hollow ploy to shut down opposition in the United Kingdom, a meaningless gesture only to be implemented in the rebranding of some maps?

Pathway to True Resolution

A fair resolution must honor the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian population for self-determination, sovereignty, and freedom from military occupation and siege. Only when every person's dignity between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we genuinely declare peace has been achieved.

Genuine resolution requires an sovereign Palestinian nation alongside Israel: this is the sole solution that enjoises agreement among the international community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have inflicted pressure on the Israeli leader to halt the violence, but he likely only did so because the burden of his relationship with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become too great. The large demonstrations across the world for the freedom of Palestine, and the unwavering opposition demonstrations inside Israel, are the real forces behind this influence.

It is due to this massive civil movement that a ceasefire has been signed, the hostages released, and the people of the territory can experience protection from destruction. Following the truce arrangement has been finalized, it is crucial to keep maintaining this pressure. The world has turned a blind eye to the violence in Gaza for many years; it must not make the same mistake in the occupied territories.