Ramallah, 30-03-2010: “34 years have passed since Israeli military killed 6 Palestinians in 1976 during peaceful protests over the confiscation of 5500 acres of Palestinian land, a confiscation carried out to facilitate the “Judaization” of the Galilee region.
The Israeli actions that are carried out represent a process of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people of East Jerusalem. What we can still testify to today is land confiscation, settlement expansion, arbitrary policies and movement restrictions imposed on Palestinians,” said Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative on the eve of the 34th anniversary of Land Day.
Palestinians will mark the anniversary of Land Day this year with a week-long series of peaceful demonstrations throughout the West Bank. Friday protests will take place after the noon prayers as usual in the villages of Bil’in, Ni’lin, Nabe Saleh, Al Masara, Iraq Bourin, Beit Ummar, and Sheikh Jarrah.
Recently, the Israeli authorities have begun to intensify their campaign against the nonviolent resistance movement in several ways. The arrests continue in Bil’in—over 40 men and boys from the village have been kidnapped and detained by the Israeli military since last summer. Most spend several months in jail, without being charged, before they are released on the condition that their families pay thousands of shekels.
Two weeks ago, the Israeli military declared Bil’in and Ni’lin to be “closed military areas” on Fridays from 8:00am-8:00pm until next August. This was an attempt to stop the nonviolent resistance movements in those villages because they are the sites of the most well-known Friday protests against the wall and land confiscation. It is also an attempt to stop international and Israeli activists from participating in the protests by threatening to arrest them. Despite the Israeli military order, several protesters challenged the Israeli order and demonstrated peacefully these past two weeks. This protest will continue to be held in spite of the military closure and the Palestinians will continue to participate in peaceful weekly protests as long as the occupation exists.
Last week was an extremely violent example of the Israeli attempts to scare protestors in order to end the demonstrations. In Iraq Bourin, a village near Nablus, 2 teenage boys were killed during the protests when they were shot in the heart and the head with live ammunition.
Since the nonviolent resistance movement began 5 years ago, there have been over half a dozen deaths of nonviolent protestors—the youngest was ten year old unarmed Ahmed Hassan Yusef Musa. He was struck in the head by a rubber bullet and killed at a demonstration in Ni’lin. Hundreds have been injured by rubber coated steel bullets, high velocity teargas canisters, teargas inhalation, and live ammunition. The resistance continues despite the violent response of the Israeli military.
"Past events continue to resonate deeply in today’s context, where Israel has created an Apartheid system. I call for a mass participation in peaceful protests to underline the choice of Palestinians for popular non-violent resistance against Israeli occupation and settlement expansion,” said Barghouthi.
“This day serves as a reminder of the Palestinian struggle against a system of apartheid, once again Land Day will symbolise our resistance against the occupation in West Bank as well as against the ongoing siege in Gaza ”.
On Saturday, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi participated in a solidarity event, a Land Day rally in the Izbat Tabib village, in the Qalqiliya district. This residents of this village are encircled and imprisoned by the Apartheid wall. During his visit in the field, Dr. Barghouthi declared that “Justice for our people will come when governments around the world will take serious steps to impose sanctions on Israel, forcing the state to stop any further settlement activities and its apartheid regime towards the Palestinians”.
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi also challenged the unjust Israeli restrictions that are imposed on the Palestinians by passing a checkpoint and entering Jerusalem without a permit. He held a press conference in front of the Damascus Gate and marched throughout the Old City in order to express his solidarity with the Palestinians in Jerusalem.
Land Day celebrations in Palestine will enjoy the support of powerful groups around the world, and will call for the adoption of BDS principles against Isareli impunity.