As International Focus Stays on the Gaza Strip, Israeli Settlers in the Occupied Territories Persist Acting Without Consequences

Last week, during a joint speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, colleague lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign urging the recognition of Palestine. We were violently removed from the parliamentary session, revealing the weak state of what's often portrayed as the "sole democratic state in the Middle East". How can officials talk about Middle East peace while declining to acknowledge a people denied of fundamental liberties and rights under decades-long occupation?

The Reality in the West Bank

In no place is the deceit more apparent than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of reconciliation sound remote and faint, while the terrifying echoes of settler violence and terror continue loudly. More than 30 incidents of settler aggression against Palestinian civilians have been recorded since the announcement of the US 20-point plan in September's end, including attacks, stealing of agricultural produce, and burning of cars and property.

Systematic Violence During Harvest Season

The increase in violence by colonists is not coincidental. This period signals the start of harvest seasons. More than a crucial economic activity, it represents an important social and cultural moment that shows endurance under military rule. Precisely for these reasons, annually colonists target Palestinian farmers during this precious time. During the last year's agricultural season, rights groups documented 113 separate cases of aggression, intimidation, harvest-thwarting, or destruction to olive groves and produce by settlers and military personnel, which took place on lands belonging to 51 Palestinian communities, municipalities, and communities.

Israeli military seemed to have played a greater part in hindering the olive harvest

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israel's security forces appeared to have had a greater part in hindering the harvesting season". In approximately 70% of cases where access to lands was forcibly prevented, troops, border police officers, and settler civilian security coordinators were physically on site. They either directly prevented Palestinians from accessing and harvesting their own lands, or failed to stop settlers who harassed or attacked them.

Political Support for Colonization

This comes as no shock, as the head 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 example, a particular military coordination team uprooted private 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 stop all building work in the outpost, which was constructed on property taken by Israeli authorities and illegally given to colonists.

Annexation Goals and Global Response

In the controlled West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a tool used by the government to achieve de-facto incorporation. Earlier this month, Smotrich headed a procession of thousands of settlers in favor of annexation the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We persist to establish presence with our presence of the territory with numerous pioneers, numerous champions, and hundreds of thousands of settlers who live in this area of the land ... we must to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The settlers and their backers in the parliament are clear about their intentions and goals. Why, then, do political leaders in the Western nations refrain from meaningful penalties and political actions? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in the summer, but the impact of the sanction has been minimal. He may not be able to travel to the UK and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the governmental authority to take territories in the West Bank. Even in the announcement of sanctions, the UK emphasized they apply "in his personal capacity" only.

International Recognition and Actual Situation

If the UK government acknowledges the truth of colonist aggression and its grave implications on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit goods from settlements to be sold in markets and shops in the UK? If Starmer is serious about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a sovereign entity, how come he permit the Israeli administration to breach its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an empty ploy to silence opposition in the United Kingdom, a hollow gesture only to be implemented in the relabeling of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to Genuine Peace

A fair resolution must honor the basic entitlements of the Palestinian population for self-determination, sovereignty, and freedom from military occupation and blockade. Only when each person's worth between the river and sea is honored can we truly say reconciliation has been attained.

True peace demands an independent Palestinian nation alongside the Israeli state: this is the sole formula that has agreement among the global community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace camp.

The former US president may have inflicted pressure on Netanyahu to halt the violence, but he probably only did so because the burden of his relationship with the isolated government of the Israeli PM had become excessive. The mass protests across the world for the freedom of Palestinian territories, and the persistent anti-government demonstrations inside the country, are the real forces behind this pressure.

It is due to this massive civil movement that a truce has been signed, the captives freed, and the residents of the territory can enjoy protection from annihilation. Following the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is vital to continue maintaining this pressure. The world has turned a blind eye to the violence in Gaza for too long; it must not make the same mistake in the West Bank.