Democratic Palestine : 24 (ص 10)
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- Democratic Palestine : 24 (ص 10)
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Occupied Palestine
Land Day Portrait of Struggle
By the time this issue reaches you, the 11th anniversary of Land Day,
on March 30th, will have passed. Throughout these eleven years, the
memory of Land Day has been converted into the symbol of the
dialectical relationship between the Palestinian people, their land,
cause and revolution.
On Land Day, the Palestinian
masses, especially those in the area of
Palestine occupied in 1948, confirm
their rejection of the Zionist occupa-
tion, and their adherence to the PLO
and its national program. This is of
particular importance now in view of
the PLO’s difficulties and the brutal
experiences inflicted on the Palestinians
in the camps in Lebanon by the
Zionists’ counterpart, Amal. That the
masses still stand up and protest, and
uphold their national traditions, despite
the critical situation, strengthens con-
viction in the inevitability of the
Palestinian revolution’s victory.
The 1976 Land Day uprising was the
culmination of a series of popular
uprisings against the numerous at-
tempts of the Zionist authorities to
eradicate Palestinian national identity
in the territories occupied in 1948. The
declaration of the so-called «develop-
ment of the Galilee» project
precipitated the confrontation between
the Zionists and the Palestinian
peasants, leaving in its trail six Palesti-
nian martyrs and scores of wounded,
whose memory is forever marked by
Land Day. This «development» project
was a long-term plan intended to
change the demographic structure of
the Galilee, by setting up eight in-
dustrial settlements. With attractive
economic incentives to Israeli settlers,
the Zionist administration expected to
convert the Galilee’s Palestinian ma-
jority into a Zionist settler majority.
All through 1975-76, the Palestinians
used all methods in their power to make
the Zionist authorities reconsider this
project which meant the confiscation of
20,000 dunums of Palestinian land and
the eviction of hundreds of families.
The masses’ efforts culminated in the
heroic confrontation of March 30th,
which was a genuine expression of their
adherence to their national identity and
cause. Demonstrations and strikes in
10
the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip
reciprocated this expression of unity.
As a result of the bitter struggle bet-
ween the Palestinians and the Zionist
authorities, the pace of this plan’s im-
plementation was reduced; the land of
one Palestinian village was returned to
the legal Palestinian owners. However,
the occupation authorities continue to
pursue their policies of land confisca-
tion, using various ploys to evict
Palestinians and demoralize them. Still,
the Palestinians continue to com-
memorate Land Day and to struggle in
the occupied territories and in exile,
despite repeated sacrifices. The facts
attest to their determination to struggle
to this very day. As a result of this
struggle, 900 Palestinians were arrested
in occupied Palestine between June and
August 1985, leading to problems of
overcrowding in the Zionist jails. Bet-
ween 1967 and 1985, 87% of Palesti-
nian youth were arrested at least once.
Curfews were imposed 3,027 times.
Palestinians camps and villages were
closed off 1,624 times. A total of 9,236
directives were issued for closing down
shops, schools and pharmacies. A total
of 13,317 homes were demolished, and
52% of the land of the West Bank has
been confiscated.
1987 PREPARATIONS
Despite decades of repression, Land
Day 1987 was planned and organized
with undoused enthusiasm and deter-
mination. Rallies, demonstrations and
strikes were organized in all areas by
the Committee of the Heads of Local
Arab Councils and the Committee for
the Defense of the Land in the Triangle,
Galilee and Naqab (Negev).
Preparing for Land Day, Palesti-
nians from villages in the Triangle and
Galilee protested the Zionist policies of
racism and Judaization. The most
prominent demonstration took place in
Kafr Qasim, protesting the demolition
of a Palestinian home under the pretext
that it was built without a permit.
Palestinian nationalist figures par-
ticipated in this demonstration: Tawfigq
Zayyad, mayor of Nazareth, and
Tawfiq Toubi (of Rakah). The citizens
of Kafr Qasim helped to rebuild the
demolished house, and replanted the
trees that had been uprooted. In Ain
Mahil, on the outskirts of Nazareth,
there was a march to protest the
bulldozing of the 320 dunums of land
left to this village. This bulldozing is the
preliminary step towards annexing this
land to the nearby Zionist settlement,
Upper Nazareth.
The Committee of the Heads of
Local Arab Councils and the Commit-
tee for the Defense of the Land issued a
statement calling on all Palestinians to
adhere to the decisions for strikes and
sit-ins, and to attend the planned
rallies. Palestinian youth in all areas of
the occupied homeland distributed
handbills and painted slogans on the
walls, calling on all to participate.
ZIONIST ALERT
The Zionist border police and army
were mobilized in anticipation of Land
Day activities. A military directive was
issued ordering the closure of all West
Bank and Gaza schools, universities
and colleges for three days, starting
March 29th, to minimize the possibility
for Palestinians to gather and launch
demonstrations and other nationalist
activities. On the West Bank, occupa-
tion troops stormed Bir Zeit University
and arrested students for interrogation.
Others received warnings. Zionist
military presence was reinforced in
Jerusalem and Bethlehem, where
border patrol units set up checkpoints
on roads and at religious, nationalist
and union institutions. Similar precau-
tionary measures were taken in Nablus,
Hebron (Al Khalil), Jenin, Qalqilia,
Ramallah, Duheisheh and Jalazon
camps, and the Jericho area.
In the Gaza Strip, the occupation
forces erected additional structures on
school walls, making them eight to ten
meters high, with the schools looking
more like detention centers. The Zionist
authorities’ justification was preventing
school children from throwing stones at
military patrols from the playground. - هو جزء من
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