March 30th .. Palestinian Land Day

Land Day is a Palestinian national occasion that started in 1976 with the martyrdom of six people in the first Arab demonstration defending the land that Palestinians live on but do not have the right to dispose of. This policy of Israeli occupation that sparked Land Day in 1976 remains in effect today. Palestinian citizens of Israel, Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza united in the belief that Land Day belongs to all Palestinians, and that land is the primary struggle against the Zionist enemy.

On March 29th, 1976, Israeli authorities declared a curfew in the villages of Sakhnin, Arraba, Deir Hanna, Tamra, and Kabul, beginning at 5 p.m. They announced that all demonstrations were illegal and threatened to shoot “inciters” in order to prevent the strike from being carried out.

Despite the threats, the strike affected all Palestinian population centers, from the northern Galilee to the southern Negev. The battle for land did not end on March 30, 1976; it continues to this day. We can say that all Palestinian days are like “Land Day,” as the racist Israeli government seizes Palestinian land, builds settlements, demolishes homes, and displaces residents every day.