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Last week, during a joint address by US President Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, fellow lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner calling for the acknowledgment of Palestine. We were forcibly ejected from the legislative assembly, exposing the weak state of what's frequently described as the "sole democracy in the Middle East". How can officials talk about Middle East peace while declining 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, words of peace sound remote and weak, while the frightening sounds of colonist attacks and intimidation continue strongly. Over 30 incidents of settler aggression against Palestinians have been recorded since the announcement of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in late September, including attacks, theft of crops, and burning of vehicles and belongings.

Systematic Violence During Agricultural Period

The increase in settler terrorism is deliberate. This time signals the beginning of harvest seasons. More than a vital economic activity, it represents an important social and national occasion that demonstrates endurance under military rule. Exactly for these causes, year after year colonists target Palestinian farmers throughout this precious time. During the last year's agricultural period, rights groups documented 113 separate cases of aggression, harassment, preventing harvesting, or damage to olive trees and produce by Israeli civilians and soldiers, which took place on territories belonging to 51 Palestinian villages, towns, and communities.

Israeli security forces appeared to have had a greater part in hindering the harvesting season

The human rights group also discovered that "Israeli military seemed to have played a larger part in obstructing the olive harvest". In about 70% of instances where access to lands was violently prevented, troops, border guards, and settlement security officials were actually present. They either personally stopped Palestinian farmers from accessing and harvesting their property, or neglected to prevent colonists who threatened or assaulted them.

Political Support for Settler Activities

This is no surprise, as the leader of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an extra official in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In one village, for instance, a particular COGAT unit removed personally-owned olive plants of local residents, claiming lack of permits, but overlooked violations by an illegal nearby colonist encampment. Last week, the Jerusalem district court ruled to halt all building work in the encampment, which was constructed on property taken by Israel and illegally transferred to settlers.

Annexation Goals and International Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is simply a instrument used by the government to pursue de-facto annexation. Recently, Smotrich headed a march of thousands of settlers in support of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as stating, "We are continuing to take hold with our presence of the territory with many settlers, many champions, and hundreds of thousands of settlers who live in this part of the land ... we need to normalise it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their backers in the parliament are clear about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do government officials in the west refrain from substantial sanctions and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was penalized by the United Kingdom in the summer, but the impact of the penalty has been minimal. He may not be able to travel to the UK and visit the London's entertainment district, but he still maintains the governmental authority to take territories in the West Bank. Even in the announcement of penalties, the UK emphasized they apply "in his personal capacity" solely.

Global Acknowledgment and Reality

If the UK government acknowledges the reality of colonist aggression and its grave implications on Palestinian life, why does it still permit goods from settlements to be sold in stores and outlets in Britain? If the British leader is serious about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how can he allow the Israeli administration to violate its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the acknowledgment an hollow tactic to shut down opposition in the UK, a hollow gesture only to be implemented in the rebranding of some cartographic representations?

Route Toward Genuine Resolution

A just peace must honor the basic entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-recognition, sovereignty, and freedom from military occupation and blockade. Only when every human being's worth between the river and sea is respected can we truly say reconciliation has been attained.

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

Trump may have applied pressure on the Israeli leader to halt the genocide, but he likely only did so because the burden of his relationship with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become excessive. The large demonstrations throughout the globe for the freedom of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering opposition demonstrations inside the country, are the actual forces behind this influence.

It is thanks to this enormous public campaign that a truce has been signed, the hostages released, and the people of Gaza can enjoy protection from annihilation. After the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is crucial to continue applying 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.