While Global Attention Remains on the Gaza Strip, Israeli Colonists in the West Bank Continue Operating With Impunity

Last week, amid a combined speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, colleague parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner urging the acknowledgment of Palestine. We were forcibly removed from the legislative assembly, exposing the weak condition of what's often described as the "only democratic state in the region". How can leaders talk about Middle East peace while declining to acknowledge a people deprived of basic freedoms and rights 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, words of reconciliation seem distant and weak, while the terrifying echoes of settler violence and intimidation persist strongly. Over 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been documented since the unveiling of the Trump administration's peace proposal in September's end, featuring physical assaults, stealing of agricultural produce, and burning of vehicles and belongings.

Targeted Violence During Harvest Season

The increase in settler terrorism is deliberate. This time signals the start of harvest seasons. Beyond a vital economic event, it constitutes an important communal and cultural occasion that shows endurance under military rule. Exactly for these causes, year after year colonists attack Palestinians throughout this crucial time. During the 2024 harvest season, rights groups documented 113 distinct incidents of violence, harassment, preventing harvesting, or damage to olive groves and crops involving Israeli civilians and military personnel, which took place on territories owned by 51 Palestinian-owned villages, municipalities, and communities.

Israeli security forces appeared to have played a larger role in obstructing the olive harvest

The human rights group also found that "Israeli security forces seemed to have had a greater part in obstructing the olive harvest". In about 70% of cases where entry to farmland was forcibly blocked, troops, border guards, and settlement civilian security coordinators were physically present. They either directly prevented Palestinians from reaching and harvesting their own lands, or neglected to stop settlers who threatened or assaulted them.

Political Support for Colonization

This is no surprise, as the head of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an additional minister in the Ministry of Defence in charge of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In one village, for instance, a particular military coordination team removed private olive trees of Palestinians, citing missing documentation, but overlooked infractions by an illegal nearby settler outpost. Last week, the Jerusalem district court ruled to halt all building work in the encampment, which was built on lands taken by Israeli authorities and unlawfully transferred to settlers.

Takeover Ambitions and Global Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is simply a instrument used by the government to achieve practical annexation. Recently, Smotrich headed a procession of thousands of colonists in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was quoted as saying, "We persist to take hold with our feet of the Land of Israel with numerous pioneers, numerous heroes, and countless of settlers who reside in this part of the territory ... we must to normalise it and make it eternal."

The colonists and their supporters in the Knesset are explicit about their intentions and intentions. Why, then, do government officials in the Western nations refrain from meaningful 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 permitted to go to the UK and visit the London's entertainment district, but he still enjoys the governmental authority to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the announcement of penalties, the British government emphasized they apply "in his personal capacity" solely.

Global Acknowledgment and Reality

If the British administration recognizes 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 Starmer is serious about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how come he permit the Israeli government to violate its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the acknowledgment an empty tactic to shut down dissenting voices in the United Kingdom, a hollow gesture only to be implemented in the rebranding of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to Genuine Peace

A just resolution must respect the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people for self-recognition, independence, and liberty from military occupation and blockade. Only when every human being's dignity across the river and Mediterranean Sea is honored can we truly say reconciliation has been attained.

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

The former US president may have applied influence on the Israeli leader to stop the violence, but he probably only did so because the burden of his relationship with the isolated government of Netanyahu had become too great. The mass protests throughout the world for the freedom of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering opposition protests inside Israel, are the real forces behind this influence.

It is due to this massive public campaign that a ceasefire has been signed, the captives freed, and the residents of the territory can experience safeguard from annihilation. Following the ceasefire agreement has been finalized, it is vital to continue applying this influence. The international community has turned a blind eye to the violence in the strip for too long; it must not repeat the same error in the West Bank.