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Last Monday, during a joint speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, colleague lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I raised a sign calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state. We were violently removed from the parliamentary assembly, exposing the fragile state of what's often portrayed as the "sole democracy in the Middle East". How can officials talk about Middle East peace while refusing to recognize a population deprived of fundamental liberties and entitlements under decades-long occupation?

The Reality in the Occupied West Bank

In no place is the deceit more evident than in the occupied West Bank. There, words of peace sound distant and faint, while the frightening sounds of settler violence and terror continue loudly. Over 30 occurrences of settler aggression against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the unveiling of the US 20-point plan in September's end, including attacks, theft of agricultural produce, and burning of vehicles and belongings.

Targeted Violence During Harvest Season

The rise in settler terrorism is not coincidental. This time signals the beginning of harvest seasons. More than a vital economic event, it constitutes an important communal and cultural occasion that shows resilience under military rule. Exactly for these causes, annually settlers attack Palestinian farmers throughout this crucial period. During the last year's agricultural period, rights groups recorded 113 separate cases of violence, harassment, harvest-thwarting, or damage to olive trees and crops involving settlers and soldiers, which occurred on territories belonging to 51 Palestinian-owned villages, towns, and areas.

Israel's military appeared to have had a greater part in hindering the olive harvest

The human rights group also discovered that "Israel's security forces seemed to have had a greater part in hindering the olive harvest". In about 70% of cases where access to farmland was forcibly blocked, troops, border guards, and settler civilian security coordinators were physically on site. They either personally prevented Palestinian farmers from reaching and harvesting their own lands, or neglected to stop colonists who harassed or attacked them.

Political Support for Colonization

This comes as no shock, as the leader of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an additional official in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In one village, for instance, a particular COGAT unit removed personally-owned olive trees of Palestinians, claiming lack of permits, but overlooked infractions by an unauthorized adjacent colonist encampment. Last week, the local court ruled to stop all construction in the outpost, which was built on property seized by Israeli authorities and unlawfully transferred to colonists.

Takeover Ambitions and Global Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is simply a tool used by the government to achieve practical annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich headed a march of many of settlers in favor of annexation the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We are continuing to take hold with our feet of the territory with numerous pioneers, many heroes, and hundreds of thousands of colonists who reside in this area of the territory ... we need to normalise it and make it eternal."

The colonists and their backers in the parliament are clear about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations hesitate from substantial penalties and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in the summer, but the impact 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 ministerial power to take territories in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of penalties, the British government highlighted they take place "personally" solely.

International Recognition and Reality

If the UK government acknowledges the reality of colonist aggression and its grave implications on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit goods from settlements to be sold in stores and shops in Britain? If the British leader is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a state, how can he permit the Israeli administration to violate its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an empty ploy to silence dissenting voices in the UK, a meaningless act only to be realised in the rebranding of some maps?

Pathway to Genuine Peace

A just resolution must honor the fundamental rights of the Palestinian population for self-determination, sovereignty, and liberty from military occupation and siege. Only when every person's dignity across the Jordan River and sea is honored can we truly declare peace has been attained.

Genuine resolution demands an sovereign Palestinian nation alongside the Israeli state: this is the only solution that enjoises agreement among the global community, the Palestinian leadership, and the Israeli peace advocates.

Trump may have inflicted pressure on Netanyahu to halt the violence, but he likely only did so because the burden of his connection with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become too great. The mass protests throughout the globe for the freedom of Palestine, and the persistent opposition protests within Israel, are the real forces behind this pressure.

It is thanks to this massive public campaign that a ceasefire has been agreed, the captives released, and the residents of the territory can enjoy safeguard from annihilation. Following the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is crucial to keep maintaining this influence. The world has turned a blind eye to the violence in the strip for too long; it must not make the same mistake in the occupied territories.