🔗 Share this article

Last week, amid a combined address by American leader Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, colleague lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign urging the acknowledgment of the Palestinian state. We were forcibly removed from the legislative assembly, revealing the weak condition of what's frequently described as the "only democratic state in the region". How can leaders talk about regional peace while refusing to recognize a population deprived of fundamental liberties and rights under decades-long military control?

The Situation in the Occupied West Bank

Nowhere is the deceit more evident than in the controlled West Bank. There, talk of reconciliation seem remote and weak, while the frightening echoes of settler violence and terror continue loudly. More than 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been recorded since the unveiling of the Trump administration's 20-point plan in September's end, featuring attacks, theft of crops, and torching of cars and property.

Systematic Aggression During Agricultural Period

The rise in violence by colonists is deliberate. This time marks the beginning of harvest seasons. More than a crucial economic activity, it constitutes an significant social and national moment that shows resilience under occupation. Exactly for these reasons, annually settlers attack Palestinians throughout this precious period. During the last year's agricultural season, rights groups recorded 113 distinct cases of violence, harassment, preventing harvesting, or damage to olive trees and produce by Israeli civilians and soldiers, which took place on lands owned by 51 Palestinian-owned communities, municipalities, and communities.

Israeli security forces seemed to have had a larger role in obstructing the olive harvest

The human rights group also discovered that "Israeli security forces appeared to have had a larger part in hindering the olive harvest". In about 70% of instances where access to lands was violently prevented, troops, border guards, and settler civilian security coordinators were physically present. They either personally prevented Palestinians from accessing and harvesting their own lands, or neglected to stop settlers who threatened or assaulted them.

Government Support for Colonization

This comes as no surprise, as the head of the colonists' political movement, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional minister in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the territorial coordination unit. In one village, for instance, a particular COGAT unit uprooted personally-owned olive plants of local residents, claiming missing documentation, but ignored violations by an unauthorized adjacent settler outpost. Last week, the local court ruled to stop all construction in the outpost, which was constructed on lands seized by Israel and unlawfully transferred to colonists.

Takeover Goals and Global Reaction

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is simply a tool used by the administration to achieve practical incorporation. Earlier this month, Smotrich headed a procession of many of colonists in favor of annexation the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We are continuing to establish presence with our presence of the territory with numerous settlers, many heroes, and hundreds of thousands of settlers who live in this part of the territory ... we need to normalise it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their backers in the Knesset are clear about their motives and goals. Why, then, do government officials in the Western nations hesitate from meaningful sanctions and diplomatic measures? Smotrich was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in June, but the impact of the penalty has been limited. He may not be able to travel to the United Kingdom and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the ministerial power to take territories in the West Bank. Even in the announcement of penalties, the British government highlighted they apply "in his personal capacity" only.

International Acknowledgment and Reality

If the UK government recognizes the truth of colonist aggression and its grave implications on Palestinian life, why does it still permit settlement produce to be sold in stores and shops in the UK? If the British leader is serious about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how come he allow the Israeli administration to breach its independence with such violent means? Or was the acknowledgment an hollow ploy to silence opposition in the United Kingdom, a hollow act only to be implemented in the relabeling of some maps?

Route Toward Genuine Peace

A just peace must honor the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian people for self-recognition, independence, and liberty 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 achieved.

Genuine peace demands an independent Palestinian nation next to Israel: this is the sole formula that enjoises consensus among the global community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace advocates.

The former US president may have applied influence on Netanyahu to stop the violence, but he likely only did so because the strain of his connection with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become excessive. The mass protests throughout the globe for the freedom of Palestine, and the persistent opposition demonstrations within Israel, are the actual factors behind this pressure.

It is due to this massive civil movement that a ceasefire has been agreed, the hostages released, and the residents of the territory can enjoy protection from destruction. Following the truce arrangement has been signed, it is vital to keep maintaining this influence. The international community has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in the strip for many years; it must not repeat the same mistake in the occupied territories.