On 30 March 1976, thousands of Palestinians citizens demonstrated in towns and villages across the Galilee region, to protest Israel’s extensive land confiscation of 21,000 dunums, as part of its openly declared policy to “Judaize the Galilee” at the expense of the indigenous population.
Israel callously followed an intricate and continuous process of Arab land confiscation through passing of new laws, and the circumvention of existing laws.
Palestinians called for a general strike to protest policy of land confiscation, Israeli police responded violently to the demonstrations killing six young Palestinians after violent confrontations erupted between the Palestinians and the Israeli army.
Israel occupies more than 85% of the total area of historical land of Palestine, which totals about 27,000 square kilometers. Palestinians, the original population of the land and who comprise 48% of the total population of historical Palestine, utilize only 15% of their ancestral, According to The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
Since then, Palestinians at home and in the Diaspora have been marking Land Day with rallies and remembrance, never cease to fight for their land while holding to their history and identity.
This day symbolizes the Palestinian people’s daily struggle to resist the settler colonialism and usurpation of their lands.
Marking of its anniversary is a reaffirmation that the Palestinians who remained in the areas on which Israel was declared in 1948 are an inseparable part of the Palestinian people and their struggle.
Land Day continues to resonate with Palestinians everywhere because it does not just mark a past historical event, but draws attention to Israel’s ongoing violent, settler-colonial process of “Judaization”.
Kh . R
