Israeli soldiers arrest four prominent Palestinian human rights activists and injure 45 others.

Today, a very difficult situation faces Palestine: land confiscation and settlement expansion continue unabated. In this context, Land Day, on March 30, 2017, was an important occasion for the Palestinian people to demand our rights to our land. Land Day – in Arabic Yom al-Ard – was born in 1976 when Israeli police killed six Palestinians and injured 100 others protesting land confiscation in the Galilee area.

On Thursday, in the northern Gaza Strip, hundreds of activists and politicians marched^[1] for the occasion alongside Bet Hanon (Erez) checkpoint. Palestinian national and Islamic parties organized the protest. The location, participants said, was chosen because it is as close as Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip can get to where Land Day began – that is, within territory seized by the Israeli occupation in 1948 ('48 Palestine). The location also was meant to convey Palestinian unity against Israeli policies in all of parts of Palestine.

Palestinians demonstrate in northern Gaza, March 30, 2017. Photo credit: Mohammed Asad for Middle East Monitor.

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine organized^[2] another demonstration for Land Day in the southern Gaza city of Rafa. Palestinian land there is threatened by the amorphous "security zone" maintained by the Israeli military. At the end of the protest, participants planted olive saplings near the Israeli wall that besieges Gaza.

In Hebron, the national campaign to lift the closure of the city marked Land Day by planting olive trees on land in Wadi al-Husain. The area is threatened by the ever-expanding Kiryat Arba settlement. Dozens of activists reached the land, despite the maze of Israeli checkpoints and soldiers that control the area. Once there, however, soldiers, in cooperation with at least 20 settlers, attacked^[3] participants and arrested^[4] four Palestinian activists.

Those detained include Anan Daana of the Hebron Defense Committee, Badee Dweik of the Human Rights Defenders Coalition, Younes Arar of the National Commission to Against the Wall and Settlements, and activist Ishaq al-Khateeb. The men were^[5] released^[6] on April 3, 2017 after each paying a 3,500 NIS ($1000) bail. Their trials in military court are ongoing.

The activists arrested during the Land Day demonstration in Hebron, March 30, 2017. Photo credit: Hebron Defense Committee. 

In Madama village, south of Nablus in the West Bank, hundreds of residents marched to the outskirts of the village's land, which is occupied by Yitzhar settlement. About 20 Israeli soldiers forcibly confronted the activists and shot less-lethal weapons, like rubber coated bullets and teargas. According to the International Solidarity Movement, Israeli soldiers shot activists with rubber-coated bullets, and then once they collapsed, shot them again. Meanwhile, masked settlers^[7] arrived at the scene to throw rocks at demonstrators. After activists objected to the added aggression, the settlers sat nearby and watched the soldiers assault Palestinians.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reports that around 45 activists in Madama were taken to the hospital for injuries sustained from rubber coated steel bullets. Many others were overcome by tear gas. Palestinian protestors, however, were not intimated; they persevered until every single olive sapling was in the ground.

Israeli soldiers and settlers confront Palestinians in Madama on Land Day, March 30, 2017. Photo credit: Ayman Nubani for the Palestinian News & Info Agency. 

In the Cremisan Valley in Bethlehem, an area where Israeli authorities have seized large swaths of rich agricultural land to build the separation barrier around the West Bank, protesters marched^[8] on an Israeli checkpoint for Land Day. A few Palestinians were able to hoist Palestinian flags atop a four-meter high Israeli fence, and then attempted to dismantle the wall. Israeli soldiers shot tear gas and stun grenades^[9], causing disorientation and difficulty bre athing.

Palestinians in the Cremisan Valley on Land Day, March 30, 2017. Photo credit: Ahmad Mzhar for the Palestinian News & Info Agency. 

In '48 Palestine, many demonstrations marches took place on Land Day. A central demonstration took place^[10] in the village of Umm al-Hiran in the Negev. Last year, Umm al-Hiran lost one of its residents, the math teacher Yaqoub Moussa al-Qian^[11], when Israeli forces shot al-Qian in his car for no reason. The demonstration marched to his grave. Speakers emphasized the ongoing struggle against racist Israeli policies.

Yaqoub Moussa Abu al-Qian. Photo credit: Adalah - the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. 

Many other cities in the region and throughout the world celebrated Land Day with marches and cultural events in support of Palestinians' rights to the land. In Lebanon, Syria and Tunisia the political parties and civil society movements organized protests for the occasion, as did cities in Latin America and Europe. All the events and activities called for an end to the occupation of Palestine and apartheid. Common slogans included "our land is our identity" and "occupation is the real racism."

Ahmad Jaradat is the Senior Project Coordinator at the Alternative Information Center.