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

Last week, amid a combined address by US President Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, fellow lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I displayed a sign calling for the acknowledgment of the Palestinian state. We were forcibly removed from the parliamentary session, exposing the weak state of what's frequently described as the "only democracy in the Middle East". How can officials talk about regional peace while refusing to acknowledge a people deprived of basic liberties and rights under decades-long military control?

The Reality in the West Bank

In no place is the deceit more apparent than in the controlled West Bank. There, talk of peace sound remote and weak, while the frightening sounds of colonist attacks and intimidation continue strongly. More than 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been recorded since the announcement of the US peace proposal in late September, featuring physical assaults, stealing of agricultural produce, and torching of cars and property.

Systematic Aggression During Agricultural Period

The increase in violence by colonists is not coincidental. This period signals the beginning of agricultural harvesting. Beyond a crucial economic event, it represents an important social and cultural occasion that demonstrates endurance under occupation. Precisely for these causes, year after year settlers target Palestinians during this crucial time. During the 2024 harvest season, human rights organizations documented 113 distinct incidents of violence, intimidation, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive groves and produce involving Israeli civilians and military personnel, which took place on lands owned by 51 Palestinian-owned villages, municipalities, and communities.

Israeli security forces seemed to have had a greater role in hindering the olive harvest

Yesh Din also found that "Israeli military appeared to have had a greater part in obstructing the harvesting season". In approximately 70% of instances where access to lands was violently prevented, troops, border guards, and settlement civilian security coordinators were physically present. They either directly prevented Palestinians from reaching and harvesting their property, or neglected to prevent settlers who harassed or assaulted them.

Political Backing for Colonization

This is no shock, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was appointed as an additional minister in the Defense Ministry in charge of the territorial coordination unit. In one village, for instance, a particular COGAT unit removed private olive trees of local residents, claiming lack of permits, but ignored violations by an unauthorized nearby settler outpost. Last week, the local court ruled to stop all building work in the outpost, which was built on lands taken by Israeli authorities and unlawfully given to colonists.

Annexation Goals and Global Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, settler terrorism is nothing but a instrument used by the government to pursue practical annexation. Earlier this month, Smotrich led a procession of many of settlers in support of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as saying, "We persist to establish presence with our presence of the Land of Israel with numerous settlers, many heroes, and countless of settlers who reside in this part of the land ... we must to normalise it and make it eternal."

The colonists and their supporters in the Knesset are clear about their motives and goals. Why, then, do political leaders in the west hesitate from substantial sanctions and political actions? Smotrich was penalized by the UK in June, but the impact of the sanction has been minimal. He may not be able to go to the United Kingdom and tour the West End, but he still maintains the governmental authority to seize lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the declaration of sanctions, the British government emphasized they take place "personally" only.

Global Recognition and Reality

If the UK government acknowledges the truth of settler violence and its serious consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still allow settlement produce to be marketed in stores and outlets in the UK? If Starmer is genuine about recognition of Palestine as a state, how come he permit the Israeli administration to violate its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an empty ploy to shut down dissenting voices in the UK, a meaningless act only to be implemented in the rebranding of some cartographic representations?

Pathway to Genuine Resolution

A fair peace must respect the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian population for self-determination, sovereignty, and freedom from occupation and blockade. Only when every human being's worth between the river and sea is honored can we genuinely declare reconciliation has been achieved.

True resolution demands an sovereign Palestinian nation next to Israel: this is the only formula that has consensus among the global community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace advocates.

Trump may have inflicted influence on the Israeli leader to halt the genocide, but he probably only did so because the strain of his connection with the pariah regime of the Israeli PM had become too great. The mass protests across the globe for the freedom of Palestine, and the unwavering anti-government protests within the country, are the real factors behind this influence.

It is due to this massive public campaign that a ceasefire has been signed, the hostages released, and the people of Gaza can enjoy safeguard from annihilation. After the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is vital to continue maintaining this pressure. The world has turned a blind eye to the atrocities in Gaza for too long; it must not make the same error in the occupied territories.