After 41 Years, Palestinians are Still Recognizing Land Day Because the International Community Won't Hold Israel Accountable
A Palestinian woman stands in front of Israeli bulldozers to stop them during the demolition of a house owned by Palestinians in the West Bank village of Biet Ula, January 2016.BY: Nisreen Eadeh/Staff Writer
March 30 marks the 41st anniversary of Yom Al-Ard (Land Day), in which Palestinians demonstrate their resistance to the Israeli occupation and land grabs.
Land Day started in March of 1976 after Israel ordered the confiscation of 2,000 hectares of land owned by Palestinian citizens of Israel in the villages near Galilee. During the confiscation, 6 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 others were injured.
To demonstrate their resistance, Palestinians use this day to hold vigils for those who have died as a result of these land grabs and plant olive trees symbolic of historic Palestine.
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza join those in Israel for a day of remembering those who lost their lives in 1976, and spread information about Israel’s ongoing confiscation of Palestinian land.
This year’s commemoration will also be marked with protests, usually resulting in violence and use of excessive force by Israeli Defense Forces. With the recent surge in illegal settlement building in occupied territories since the beginning of 2017, there will be more cause for concern over land grabs than ever before.
Since January, Israel has announced plans to build 6,219 new illegal settlements in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank. The announcement came just weeks after the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2334, calling for end to Israel’s settlements program.
Palestinian citizens living in Israel have also been suffering from home demolitions and land seizures. After being removed from their homes, Palestinians in Israel began to build new makeshift houses in other parts of the country. In January, 11 of those homes were demolished by Israeli forces because they violate a law stating that Palestinians cannot construct homes or obtain permits to build upon their existing ones.
The Israeli Knesset has also been swiftly voting on laws this year, and those in the past, that legalize the land annexations, despite the fact that the laws violate international law.
Since the inception of Israel, the international community has reiterated these law violations, but done nothing to punish the Israeli government. No steps have been taken to get Israel to comply with Resolution 2334, or numerous others from the past 50 years. Israel is empowered by the international community’s apathy towards the land grabs and rising human rights violations.
