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Last Monday, during a joint address by American leader Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, colleague lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I raised a sign urging the recognition of Palestine. We were forcibly removed from the legislative assembly, exposing the weak state of what's frequently portrayed as the "only democracy in the region". How can leaders talk about Middle East peace while declining to recognize a people deprived of fundamental freedoms and entitlements under decades-long occupation?

The Situation in the West Bank

In no place is the deceit more evident than in the controlled West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation seem distant and weak, while the terrifying sounds of colonist attacks and intimidation continue strongly. Over 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been documented since the announcement of the US peace proposal in September's end, including attacks, stealing of crops, and torching of vehicles and belongings.

Systematic Violence During Agricultural Period

The increase in settler terrorism is deliberate. This time marks the beginning of harvest seasons. Beyond a crucial economic event, it constitutes an significant communal and cultural moment that demonstrates resilience under occupation. Precisely for these causes, annually colonists target Palestinians throughout this precious period. During the last year's agricultural season, rights groups documented 113 separate incidents of violence, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or destruction to olive trees and produce involving Israeli civilians and soldiers, which occurred on territories owned by 51 Palestinian communities, towns, and communities.

Israel's security forces appeared to have played a larger role in obstructing the harvesting season

The human rights group also discovered that "Israeli security forces appeared to have played a greater role in hindering the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of instances where access to lands was violently prevented, soldiers, border police officers, and settlement security officials were physically on site. They either directly prevented Palestinians from accessing and harvesting their property, or failed to stop colonists who harassed or attacked them.

Political Support for Colonization

This comes as no surprise, as the head of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an extra official in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a special military coordination team removed personally-owned olive trees of local residents, citing lack of permits, but overlooked violations by an illegal nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the Jerusalem district court decided to stop all building work in the outpost, which was built on property seized by Israeli authorities and unlawfully given to colonists.

Annexation Ambitions and International Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a tool used by the government to achieve practical annexation. Recently, Smotrich headed a march of thousands of colonists in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as saying, "We persist to take hold with our presence of the territory with many settlers, numerous champions, and countless of colonists who live in this area of the territory ... we must to normalize it and make it eternal."

The settlers and their supporters in the parliament are explicit about their motives and goals. Why, then, do government officials in the west refrain from meaningful penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in June, but the effect of the sanction has been limited. He may not be able to go to the UK and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the governmental authority to seize territories in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of sanctions, the British government emphasized they take place "personally" solely.

International Recognition and Actual Situation

If the British administration acknowledges the reality of colonist aggression and its serious implications on Palestinian life, why does it still allow settlement produce to be marketed in stores and shops in the UK? If Starmer is genuine about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a sovereign entity, how come he allow the Israeli government to breach its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the acknowledgment an hollow ploy to shut down opposition in the United Kingdom, a meaningless gesture only to be realised in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to Genuine Peace

A just peace must respect the basic rights of the Palestinian people for self-recognition, independence, and liberty from occupation and siege. Only when each person's dignity between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea is respected can we truly say peace has been achieved.

True peace requires an sovereign Palestinian nation alongside Israel: this is the only formula that has consensus among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace camp.

The former US president may have applied pressure on Netanyahu to halt the violence, but he probably only did so because the strain of his connection with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become excessive. The mass protests throughout the world for the freedom of Palestine, and the unwavering opposition demonstrations inside Israel, are the real forces behind this influence.

It is thanks to this enormous public campaign that a truce has been agreed, the hostages freed, and the residents of the territory can experience protection from annihilation. After the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is vital to continue maintaining this influence. The world has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in Gaza for many years; it must not repeat the same mistake in the occupied territories.