Land day marks 41 years of Israeli impunity against Palestine

On this day in 1976 thousands of Palestinians first took to the streets in protest against the Israeli theft of Palestinian land in the northern Galilee region. 6 demonstrators were killed and over 100 wounded by Israeli forces. This was the first Palestinian Land Day which has been remembered every year since.

Today, 41 years later , Palestinians are still defending their lands and protesting against Zionist expansionism. and relentless Israeli land grabs.

Since 1976 Israel has confiscated more than 3000km² land, that is almost half the 6220 km² that makes up the West Bank and Gaza.

In addition the ongoing construction of illegal Israeli settlements, bypass roads and the apartheid-style wall have left Palestinians living space of only 12% of the historical Palestine. This is a flagrant violation of international conventions, particularly 4th Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law.

The Israeli occupation has replaced the indigenous population with 700,000 Israeli settlers living in the West Bank and Jerusalem. This occupation is relentless, with yet more settlements appearing, in contravention of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which identifies the Israeli settlement as a “flagrant violation” of international law” with “no legal validity”.

We the Palestinian People stand by our right to defend our lands, our heritage and our right to liberation. We are living under Apartheid, which is the atrocious conglomeration of colonialism, racism, denial of self-determination, and expulsion.

We call on all people around the world to condemn the Israeli violations of Palestinian land and to decisively and effectively compel Israel to abide by the UN Security Council Resolutions, stop all land theft and cease all settlement activities on occupied Palestinian land.