As International Focus Remains on the Gaza Strip, Israel's Settlers in the West Bank Continue Operating Without Consequences

Last week, amid a joint speech by American leader Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, colleague parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I displayed a banner urging the recognition of the Palestinian state. We were forcibly ejected from the parliamentary session, exposing the weak condition of what's often portrayed as the "sole democracy in the region". How can leaders speak about Middle East peace while declining to acknowledge a people deprived of fundamental freedoms and rights under decades-long military control?

The Reality in the West Bank

In no place is the hypocrisy more apparent than in the occupied West Bank. There, words of peace sound remote and faint, while the frightening echoes of settler violence and terror persist loudly. More than 30 occurrences of violence by settlers against Palestinian civilians have been documented since the announcement of the US peace proposal in September's end, including physical assaults, stealing of agricultural produce, and burning of cars and belongings.

Targeted Violence During Harvest Season

The increase in settler terrorism is deliberate. This time marks the beginning of harvest seasons. More than a vital economic activity, it represents an important social and national occasion that demonstrates resilience under military rule. Precisely for these reasons, annually settlers attack Palestinians throughout this precious period. During the 2024 harvest period, rights groups recorded 113 separate incidents of violence, harassment, preventing harvesting, or damage to olive trees and produce by settlers and military personnel, which took place on territories belonging to 51 Palestinian-owned communities, towns, and areas.

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

The human rights group also discovered that "Israeli security forces seemed to have had a greater part in hindering the olive harvest". In approximately 70% of cases where entry to farmland was violently blocked, troops, border police officers, and settler security officials were physically present. They either directly prevented Palestinian farmers from reaching and gathering their property, or neglected to prevent settlers who threatened or assaulted them.

Political Support for Settler Activities

This comes as no surprise, as the leader of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an extra official in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In Umm al-Khair, for example, a particular military coordination team removed private olive trees of local residents, citing lack of permits, but ignored infractions by an unauthorized nearby settler outpost. Last week, the local court decided to stop all construction in the outpost, which was constructed on lands taken by Israeli authorities and illegally given to colonists.

Takeover Ambitions and International Response

In the controlled West Bank, settler terrorism is nothing but a tool used by the government to achieve de-facto incorporation. Recently, Smotrich led a march of thousands of settlers in favor of taking over the West Bank. He was reported as saying, "We persist to take hold with our presence of the territory with numerous settlers, numerous heroes, and hundreds of thousands of settlers who live in this area of the territory ... we need to normalize it and make it eternal."

The settlers and their backers in the parliament are clear about their intentions and goals. Why, then, do government officials in the Western nations refrain from substantial penalties and political actions? Smotrich was penalized by the United Kingdom in June, but the impact of the sanction has been minimal. He may not be able to travel to the United Kingdom and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still maintains the governmental authority to seize territories in the West Bank. Even in the announcement of penalties, the British government highlighted they apply "in his personal capacity" solely.

International Acknowledgment and Actual Situation

If the British administration acknowledges the reality of settler violence and its serious implications on Palestinian life, why does it still allow goods from settlements to be marketed in stores and shops in Britain? If Starmer is serious about recognition of Palestine as a sovereign entity, how can he allow the Israeli government to breach its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the acknowledgment an hollow tactic to shut down opposition in the United Kingdom, a meaningless act only to be implemented in the relabeling of some maps?

Route Toward True Resolution

A just peace must honor the fundamental entitlements of the Palestinian population for self-determination, independence, and freedom from military occupation and siege. Only when every human being's dignity between the river and sea is honored can we truly say reconciliation has been attained.

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

The former US president may have inflicted pressure on Netanyahu to stop the genocide, 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 Palestine, and the persistent opposition demonstrations within the country, are the real forces behind this pressure.

It is due to this enormous civil movement that a truce has been signed, the captives freed, and the residents of the territory can experience safeguard from destruction. After the ceasefire agreement has been signed, it is crucial to keep applying this pressure. The international community has ignored to the atrocities in the strip for too long; it must not repeat the same error in the West Bank.