"Last Monday, when the US president, Donald Trump, addressed the Knesset alongside the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, my compatriot lawmaker Ayman Odeh and I raised a banner calling them to Recognise Palestine. We were brutally expelled by force from the parliament's plenum, revealing the fragile state of the supposed only democracy in the Middle East. How can Trump and Netanyahu speak of peace in the Middle East without recognition of the people deprived for decades of their basic liberties and rights under vicious occupation?"
"There, the words of peace are but a weak and distant voice, but the horrifying sounds of settler violence and terror still echo loudly. More than 30 occurrences of settler violence against Palestinians have been documented since the announcement of Trump's 20-point plan at the end of September, including physical assaults, theft of agricultural produce and torching of vehicles and property."
"During the 2024 harvest period, Yesh Din (an Israeli human rights group that collects and disseminates information regarding violations of Palestinians' human rights in the West Bank) documented 113 separate incidents of violence, harassment, harvest-thwarting or damage to olive trees and crops involving Israeli civilians and soldiers, which took place on lands belonging to 51 Palestinian villages, towns and communities."
Two lawmakers displayed a banner calling to recognise Palestine during a Knesset address and were forcibly expelled, illustrating limits on Palestinian political expression. The occupied West Bank experiences persistent settler violence that intensifies during the olive harvest, driven by social and national significance of the season. Since the announcement of a 20-point plan, more than 30 settler attacks were recorded, including assaults, theft and arson. During the 2024 harvest, Yesh Din documented 113 incidents across lands of 51 Palestinian communities. Israeli security forces were reported to have played a significant role in obstructing access to harvesting areas.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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