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Last week, amid a combined address by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, colleague parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I raised a banner urging the acknowledgment of the Palestinian state. We were forcibly removed from the legislative session, revealing the fragile state of what's often described as the "sole democratic state in the region". How can officials speak about Middle East peace while refusing to acknowledge a population deprived of fundamental liberties and entitlements under long-standing occupation?

The Reality in the Occupied West Bank

Nowhere is the deceit more evident than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of peace seem remote and weak, while the terrifying echoes of colonist attacks and intimidation continue strongly. More than 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been documented since the announcement of the Trump administration's peace proposal in September's end, including physical assaults, theft of agricultural produce, and burning of vehicles and property.

Targeted Violence During Agricultural Period

The increase in violence by colonists is deliberate. This time signals the start of harvest seasons. Beyond a vital economic event, it represents an important social and cultural moment that shows resilience under military rule. Precisely for these causes, year after year colonists attack Palestinians during this precious period. During the 2024 harvest season, human rights organizations recorded 113 distinct incidents of violence, harassment, harvest-thwarting, or destruction to olive trees and produce by Israeli civilians and military personnel, which took place on lands owned by 51 Palestinian-owned villages, municipalities, and communities.

Israel's military appeared to have had a larger part in obstructing the olive harvest

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israeli security forces appeared to have played a larger role in hindering the olive harvest". In about 70% of instances where entry to farmland was forcibly blocked, soldiers, border police officers, and settlement civilian security coordinators were physically present. They either directly stopped Palestinians from reaching and gathering their property, or failed to stop settlers who harassed or assaulted 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 additional official in the Defense Ministry in charge of the territorial coordination unit. In one village, for example, a special military coordination team uprooted private olive trees of local residents, claiming lack of permits, but overlooked violations by an unauthorized adjacent settler outpost. Last week, the Jerusalem district court decided to halt all building work in the outpost, which was constructed on property taken by Israeli authorities and unlawfully given to settlers.

Annexation Goals and Global Response

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a instrument used by the administration to achieve practical annexation. Recently, Smotrich headed a procession of many of settlers in support of annexation the West Bank. He was reported as stating, "We are continuing to take hold with our feet of the territory with numerous pioneers, many champions, and hundreds of thousands of settlers who reside in this area of the land ... we need to normalise it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their supporters in the Knesset are explicit about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do government officials in the Western nations hesitate from meaningful penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in the summer, but the impact of the penalty has been minimal. He may not be able to go to the United Kingdom and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still maintains the governmental authority to take territories in the West Bank. Remarkably in the declaration of penalties, the British government emphasized they take place "personally" solely.

International Acknowledgment and Reality

If the UK government recognizes the truth of colonist aggression and its grave implications on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit goods from settlements to be sold in stores and outlets in Britain? If Starmer is serious about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a sovereign entity, how can he allow the Israeli administration to breach its sovereignty with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an hollow tactic to shut down dissenting voices in the United Kingdom, a meaningless act only to be realised in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Route Toward True Resolution

A fair resolution must respect the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian population for self-recognition, independence, and freedom from military occupation and blockade. Only when every person's worth between the Jordan River and sea is honored can we truly say peace has been attained.

Genuine peace requires an independent Palestinian state alongside the Israeli state: this is the sole solution that has agreement among the global community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace camp.

Trump may have applied influence on the Israeli leader to halt the genocide, but he likely only did so because the strain of his connection with the pariah regime of the Israeli PM had become excessive. The large demonstrations across the globe for the liberation of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering anti-government protests within Israel, are the real factors behind this influence.

It is thanks to this massive civil movement that a truce has been agreed, the hostages released, and the residents of the territory can experience protection from destruction. After the truce arrangement has been signed, it is crucial to keep maintaining this pressure. The world has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in Gaza for many years; it must not repeat the same mistake in the West Bank.