On Land Day MPPM draws attention to situation in Palestine

In March 1976, Israeli authorities announced the confiscation of thousands of acres of Palestinian land from villages in the Galilee "for security reasons", which they did following the imposition of curfew. The local Palestinian leaders responded with the call for a general strike and demonstrations against the expropriation of land in all Palestinian cities on March 30.

Although Israel had outlawed all demonstrations, more than 400,000 people responded to the call by joining the general strike and participating in peaceful demonstrations, from north to south of Israel. There were also solidarity strikes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. To these peaceful demonstrations Israel responded to the intervention of armed forces, backed by tanks, in Palestinian villages. This led to the killing of six unarmed Palestinians and hundreds of wounded and prisoners.

Since then March 30 is Land Day for the Palestinians. On this day, they honor the memory of the victims but also celebrate the date on which, 36 years ago, Palestinian citizens of Israel came together to confront the Israeli authorities who wanted to plunder their land.

With the complacency of the international community, Israel has continued its policy of appropriation of Palestinian land to build settlements, has uprooted trees and destroyed crops, has tore down houses, expelling their inhabitants and precluding their return, and built the "apartheid wall "that divides families and separates Palestinians from their land. Objectively, Israel is preventing the constitution of the State of Palestine and the achievement of two-state solution advocated and supported by UN resolutions.

Palestinian Land Day is marked every year by peaceful demonstrations - that Israel usually want to silence by force - to reaffirm the commitment of the Palestinians to their land. It is also observed around the world with actions of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

On Land Day, the MPPM expresses its solidarity with the Palestinian people's just struggle for their right to a free and sovereign state, condemns the expansionist policies of Israel and apartheid, denounces the international community's inaction in the face of repeated attacks by Israel against the Palestinians and warns against the dangers to peace in the Middle East brought by not resolving the Palestinian question.