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Last week, during a combined speech by US President Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, colleague lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I raised a sign urging the acknowledgment of the Palestinian state. We were forcibly ejected from the parliamentary assembly, exposing the weak condition of what's frequently portrayed as the "sole democratic state in the region". How can officials talk about Middle East peace while refusing to acknowledge a population denied of fundamental liberties and entitlements under decades-long occupation?

The Reality in the Occupied West Bank

Nowhere is the deceit more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, talk of peace sound distant and weak, while the frightening sounds of settler violence and intimidation persist strongly. Over 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the announcement of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in September's end, featuring physical assaults, theft of crops, and burning of vehicles and belongings.

Systematic Aggression During Harvest Season

The increase in settler terrorism is not coincidental. This time signals the start of harvest seasons. Beyond a vital economic event, it constitutes an significant social and cultural moment that demonstrates endurance under occupation. Precisely for these reasons, year after year settlers attack Palestinians throughout this precious period. During the 2024 harvest period, human rights organizations recorded 113 distinct cases of aggression, harassment, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive trees and crops involving settlers and soldiers, which occurred on lands belonging to 51 Palestinian communities, municipalities, and communities.

Israel's military appeared to have had a larger role in obstructing the harvesting season

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israeli military appeared to have had a greater part in hindering the harvesting season". In about 70% of cases where access to lands was forcibly prevented, troops, border police officers, and settler security officials were physically present. They either personally stopped Palestinian farmers from accessing and harvesting their own lands, or failed to prevent settlers who threatened or attacked them.

Government Backing for Colonization

This is no shock, as the head of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra minister in the Defense Ministry responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a particular COGAT unit uprooted personally-owned olive plants of Palestinians, claiming lack of permits, but ignored violations by an illegal adjacent settler outpost. Last week, the Jerusalem district court decided to halt all construction in the encampment, which was constructed on property seized by Israeli authorities and illegally given to settlers.

Annexation Goals and International Response

In the occupied West Bank, settler terrorism is nothing but a tool used by the government to pursue practical incorporation. Recently, Smotrich led a procession of many of settlers in support of annexation the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We persist to establish presence with our presence of the territory with numerous settlers, numerous champions, and countless of colonists who live in this part of the land ... we must to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their supporters in the parliament are clear about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do government officials in the Western nations hesitate from meaningful penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in June, but the effect of the sanction has been minimal. He may not be able to go to the United Kingdom and visit the London's entertainment district, but he still maintains the ministerial power to seize territories in the West Bank. Remarkably in the declaration of sanctions, the UK highlighted they apply "personally" only.

International Acknowledgment and Reality

If the UK government recognizes the reality of settler violence and its serious implications on Palestinian existence, why does it still allow settlement produce to be marketed in stores and shops in Britain? If the British leader is serious about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how come he permit the Israeli administration to violate its sovereignty with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an hollow ploy to silence opposition in the United Kingdom, a meaningless gesture only to be realised in the relabeling of some maps?

Route Toward Genuine Peace

A just resolution must honor the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-determination, independence, and liberty from occupation and blockade. Only when every human being's worth between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea is honored can we genuinely declare reconciliation has been achieved.

Genuine resolution requires an independent Palestinian nation next to the Israeli state: this is the sole solution that enjoises consensus among the global community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace advocates.

Trump may have inflicted influence on Netanyahu to halt the genocide, but he likely only did so because the strain of his connection with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become excessive. The mass protests across the globe for the freedom of Palestine, and the persistent anti-government demonstrations inside the country, are the actual forces behind this influence.

It is thanks to this massive public campaign that a truce has been agreed, the hostages released, and the people of Gaza can experience safeguard from annihilation. Following the truce arrangement has been finalized, it is crucial to keep maintaining this pressure. The world has ignored to the violence in the strip for many years; it must not repeat the same error in the West Bank.