DEIR HANNA, Israel: Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian citizens of Israel rallied for an end to the war in Gaza Strip, Palestinian territories, as they marked Land Day, an annual commemoration of a deadly 1976 crackdown on protests against Israeli land occupations and a symbol of resistance.
Arab members of the Israeli parliament led the demonstrators as they marched through the northern town of Deir Hanna waving Palestinian flags and carrying banners inscribe with slogans: “Stop the war on Gaza”.
Majority of the protesters were Arab citizens of Israel — Palestinians who dodged displacement during the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel and who, with their descendants, now constitute around 21 percent of Israel’s population.
A smaller group of Jewish Israelis also joined the protest rally, some carrying placards reading: “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies”.
Land Day commemorates protests and a strike on March 30, 1976 against the Israeli authorities’ decision to seize large parts of land in the northern Galilee region.
Israeli police fired at protesters, killing six people, and the government plan was subsequently dropped.
“On this day 48 years ago, our people thwarted the project to confiscate our lands with their protests… and they embodied an important and prominent milestone in history,” Saeed Hussein, Deir Hanna town council chief, said in a speech in city’s main square.
He said that 48 years have passed, yet the machine of death and displacement persists. He further said that the attempt to erase their national identity and seize lands continues till date.
Israel’s Arab citizens suffer higher rates of crime, unemployment and poverty than Jewish Israelis.
Mohammed Barakeh, community leader and former lawmaker, said Israeli Arabs were still facing “displacement and repression”.
“This flesh that burns in Gaza is ours and the women murdered in Gaza are our sisters,” he added, and condemned what he termed as a “genocide” in the Palestinian territory.
Since war broke out in Gaza nearly six months ago, Israel’s Arab citizens say they have experienced escalating hostility from the Israeli government and from other Israelis.
A 33-year-old Jewish Israeli activist, Eyal, who asked to be identified by his first name only, said he joined the rally in solidarity with Arabs. He demanded an end to the massacres by the Israeli government and an end to the war on Gaza.
