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].<ref>.</ref> As result of the war hundreds of thousands of Jews and Palestinian-Arabs had left or were expelled from their homes.]] ].<ref>.</ref> As result of the war hundreds of thousands of Jews and Palestinian-Arabs had left or were expelled from their homes.]]
{{See also|Arab–Israeli conflict|Israeli–Palestinian conflict}} {{See also|Arab–Israeli conflict|Israeli–Palestinian conflict}}
The ]s of ] were a largely ] people, 75% of whom made their living off the land before the the ]. After the ] and the large-scale upheavals effected by the ], referred to by Palestinians as ], land continued to play an important role in the lives of the 156,000 Palestinians who had remained inside what became the state of Israel. Laurie King-Irani submits that for this community in rupture, land functions, "as the source of communal identity, purpose and honor."<ref name=King>{{cite web|title=Land, Identity and the Limits of Resistance in the Galilee|author=Laurie King-Irani|publisher=Middle East Report Online|date=Fall 2006, Issue no. 216|accessdate=2006-11-01|url=http://www.merip.org/mer/mer216/216_king-irani.html}}</ref>
In 1948, seven ] the ] Israeli state. The subsequent Israeli victory was accompanied by both a ] and a ] with hundreds of thousands displaced on both sides of the conflict.


The Israeli government, in application of the ] vision of establishing a homeland for the Jewish People, adopted in 1950 the ]; designated to give Jewish people and ] the right to migrate to and settle in the country. Israel also applied several emergency ordinances formulating ] Palestinian-Arabs who have now become ] themselves. The Israeli government, in application of the ] vision of establishing a homeland for the Jewish People, adopted in 1950 the ]; designated to give Jewish people and ] the right to migrate to and settle in the country. Israel's ] of ] ] transferred the right of owners of the land to a government-appointed Custodian of Absentee Property. The law was used to ] lands belonging to the over 750,000 Palestinian refugees, the majority of whom fled the area that became Israel in 1948. It was also used to confiscate the lands of Arab citizens of Israel who "are present inside the state, yet classified in law as 'absent'." Today, there are an estimated 200,000 "present-absentees" or ] from among the estimated 1.2 million Arab citizens of Israel, representing some 20% of the Palestinian Arab population in Israel.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Democratic State for all of its Citizens and Refugees|author=Uri Davis|publisher=MidEast Journal 2001, Original Abridged version in Ha'aretz, ], ]|url=http://www.mideastjournal.com/israelsdemocracy1.html}}</ref> More than a 1000 square kilometres of land were expropriated from Arab citizens of Israel alone between 1948 and 2003.<ref name=Ahram/>


===Catalyzing events=== ===Catalyzing events===
In February 1976, Israel declared plans to expropriate lands in the ] for official use, 21 km² (5,000 acres) located between the Arab villages of ] and Arrabe.<ref name=Ahram/> Ori Nir of ] writes that only 31 percent of the land in question, or less than one-third, was Arab-owned and that some of it was to be used to expand the Arab village of Majar near Acre and to build public buildings in Arab towns.<ref name=Jpost/><ref name=JpostApr1> by ]<br><sup>(a)</sup> On March 11, 1976, the Israeli government published the plan to expropriate approximately 21,000 dunams (5,250 acres) of land in the Galilee.<ref name=Ahram/>
Several more wars occurred between Israel and its Arab neighbours in the following years until on October 1973, ] and ] staged, along with ] and the ], a ] on the the Jewish day of atonement, ]. At first, the Arab forces overwhelmed the ] (IDF) situated on the ] and the ] but later the IDF turned the tide and, eventually, a cease-fire was secured in the backdrop of ]–] counter threats to become directly involved.<ref name="Britannica: The Yom Kippur War">{{cite web
|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-219432/Israel
|title=Israel: The Yom Kippur War
|accessdate=2007-03-03
|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica
}}</ref><ref name = "Encarta: Arab-Israeli War of 1973">{{cite web
|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564886/Arab-Israeli_War_of_1973.html
|title=Arab-Israeli War of 1973-74
|accessdate=2007-03-04
|publisher=Encarta Encyclopedia
}}</ref>


⚫ Nayef Hawatmeh writes in ] that, "These vast tracts of land were to be turned over to the construction of eight Jewish industrial villages, in implementation of the so-called Galilee Development Plan of 1975. In hailing this plan, the Ministry of Agriculture openly declared that its primary purpose was to alter the demographic nature of Galilee in order to create a Jewish majority in the area."<ref name=Ahram/>
The heavy costs of the war to Israel -- who had suffered 2656 deaths and 7250 injured<ref name="Dunstan">{{cite web
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=-glXraIMt8gC&pg=PA117&dq=yom+kippur+war+7250&sig=ACfU3U2a_PBaDjpMKxjKMFTAVI8ky0GPdw#PPA117,M1
|title=The Yom Kippur War: The Arab-Israeli War of 1973
|accessdate=2008-08-29
|author=Simon Dunstan
|publisher=Osprey Publishing
}} pg. 117, ISBN 9781846032882</ref> -- were a catalyst for the government's decision to strengthen its presence close to the Golan Heights, which borders Syria, and to that purpose a Galilee Development Plan was decided upon. In February 1976, Israel declared plans to expropriate lands in the ] for official use, 21 km² (5,000 acres) of which approximately 31 percent were Arab-owned.<ref name=Jpost/><ref name=JpostApr1> by ]<br><sup>(a)</sup> On March 11, 1976, the Israeli government published a plan to expropriate approximately 21,000 dunams (5,250 acres) of land in the Galilee. As Ori Nir of Ha'aretz has pointed out, only 31 percent of the land in question, or less than one-third, was Arab-owned, some of which was to be used to expand the Arab village of Majar near Acre and to build public buildings in Arab towns.</ref>


According to Orly Halpern of the '']'', the lands were confiscated for security purposes, but on top of a military training camp, they were also used to construct new Jewish settlements.<ref name=Jpost/> According to Orly Halpern of the ], the lands were initially confiscated for "security purposes," but were actually used to build new Jewish settlements and a military training camp.<ref name=Jpost/>


==== Arab concerns ==== ===The Land Day Protest of 1976===
⚫ ], leader of the ] (DFLP), explains that, "These vast tracts of land were to be turned over to the construction of eight Jewish industrial villages, in implementation of the so-called Galilee Development Plan of 1975. In hailing this plan, the Ministry of Agriculture openly declared that its primary purpose was to alter the demographic nature of Galilee in order to create a Jewish majority in the area."<ref name=Ahram/>

====The Land Day Protest of 1976====
The government decision to confiscate the land was accompanied by the declaration of a curfew to be imposed on the villages of ], ], ], ], ], and ], effective from 5 p.m. on ], ].<ref name=Jpost>{{cite web|title=Israel's Arabs to Mark Land Day|author=Orly Halpern|publisher=The Jerusalem Post, English Online Edition|date=March 30, 2006|accessdate=2006-11-01|url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1143498766991}}</ref> The government decision to confiscate the land was accompanied by the declaration of a curfew to be imposed on the villages of ], ], ], ], ], and ], effective from 5 p.m. on ], ].<ref name=Jpost>{{cite web|title=Israel's Arabs to Mark Land Day|author=Orly Halpern|publisher=The Jerusalem Post, English Online Edition|date=March 30, 2006|accessdate=2006-11-01|url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1143498766991}}</ref>


Revision as of 16:20, 30 August 2008

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Land Day (Template:Lang-ar, Yom al-Ard; Template:Lang-he, Yom Ha'adama), is an annual protest day for Palestinians, occurring on March 30, charging Israel with discriminating against the Arabs of the state, especially as regards land distribution. The first such protest occurred on March 29-30, 1976, concerning Israeli expropriations of land in the Galilee during which six Arab citizens had been killed by the Israeli security forces amid violent clashes.

Background

The Arab invasion of May 1948, accompanied with a proclamation to create a "United State of Palestine" in place of the Jewish and Arab, two-state plan. As result of the war hundreds of thousands of Jews and Palestinian-Arabs had left or were expelled from their homes.
See also: Arab–Israeli conflict and Israeli–Palestinian conflict

The Arabs of Palestine were a largely agrarian people, 75% of whom made their living off the land before the the establishment of the Israeli state. After the Palestinian exodus and the large-scale upheavals effected by the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, referred to by Palestinians as al-Nakba, land continued to play an important role in the lives of the 156,000 Palestinians who had remained inside what became the state of Israel. Laurie King-Irani submits that for this community in rupture, land functions, "as the source of communal identity, purpose and honor."

The Israeli government, in application of the Zionist vision of establishing a homeland for the Jewish People, adopted in 1950 the Law of Return; designated to give Jewish people and Jewish refugees the right to migrate to and settle in the country. Israel's Absentees' Property Law of March 1950 transferred the right of owners of the land to a government-appointed Custodian of Absentee Property. The law was used to confiscate lands belonging to the over 750,000 Palestinian refugees, the majority of whom fled the area that became Israel in 1948. It was also used to confiscate the lands of Arab citizens of Israel who "are present inside the state, yet classified in law as 'absent'." Today, there are an estimated 200,000 "present-absentees" or internally displaced Palestinians from among the estimated 1.2 million Arab citizens of Israel, representing some 20% of the Palestinian Arab population in Israel. More than a 1000 square kilometres of land were expropriated from Arab citizens of Israel alone between 1948 and 2003.

Catalyzing events

In February 1976, Israel declared plans to expropriate lands in the Galilee for official use, 21 km² (5,000 acres) located between the Arab villages of Sakhnin and Arrabe. Ori Nir of Ha'aretz writes that only 31 percent of the land in question, or less than one-third, was Arab-owned and that some of it was to be used to expand the Arab village of Majar near Acre and to build public buildings in Arab towns.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Local Arab leaders from the Rakah party, such as Tawfiq Ziad, responded by calling for a day of general strikes and protests against the confiscation of lands to be held on March 30. A general strike and marches took place throughout the Arab towns, from the Galilee to the Negev.

During the protests, four unarmed demonstrators were shot by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and two more by police. At least 100 Arabs were wounded and many others jailed. The New York Times wrote that the killings were carried out by police during "riots in the Galilee region to protest over Israeli expropriation of Arab land." In annual commemorations of the day by Arab citizens, Israeli security forces are on alert but do not interfere in the protests.

Legacy

Land Day poster (1984) by Abdel Rahman Al Muzain

For Palestinians, Land Day has since become a day of commemoration and tribute to those who have fallen in the struggle to hold onto their land and identity. The Press Center of the Palestinian National Authority has characterized it "...as a remarkable day in the history of the Palestinian people's struggle, as the Palestinians in such a particular day embrace the land of their ancestors, their identity and their existence."

It often serves as a day for the expression of political discontent for Arab citizens of Israel, particularly surrounding issues of equal land and citizenship rights. The day is also commemorated annually by Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and further afield in refugee camps and among the Palestinian diaspora worldwide.

File:LandDay2.jpg
Land Day poster

Calls to launch non-violent resistance protests to ongoing land confiscations regularly occur on Land Day. For example, the BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights issues a press release for Land Day 2006, calling for "boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel" and an end to "racial discrimination, occupation, and colonization."

In recent years, Arab citizens of Israel have focused on expressing solidarity with their West Bank and Gazan brothers and sisters. In 2002, for example, Land Day demonstrations by Arab citizens of Israel also spoke out against the "Israeli siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters."

In 2001 during the Second Intifada, a general strike and "Day of Rage" was called for by Palestinians on the anniversary of Land Day. Five Palestinians were killed in Nablus during stone-throwing protests where 10,000 had taken to the streets, and one Palestinian was killed in a half-hour exchange of gunfire at Ramallah, where 1,000 had marched on an Israeli checkpoint; many others were wounded by rubber bullets.

See also

References

  1. Israeli Arab leader on Land Day: We'll fight Israel's 'rising fascism' by Yoav Stern and Jack Khouri, Haaretz, June 15, 2008
  2. Thousands of Arabs mark Land Day by Yaakov Lappin, Jerusalem Post, March 30, 2008
  3. 'The Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem: 1917–1988. Part II, 1947–1977.
  4. Laurie King-Irani (Fall 2006, Issue no. 216). "Land, Identity and the Limits of Resistance in the Galilee". Middle East Report Online. Retrieved 2006-11-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. Uri Davis. "A Democratic State for all of its Citizens and Refugees". MidEast Journal 2001, Original Abridged version in Ha'aretz, June 25, 2001.
  6. ^ Nayef Hawatmeh (7-13 April 2005, Issue No. 737). "Remembering Land Day". Al-Ahram Weekly Online. Retrieved 2006-11-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jpost was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. "Remembering Land Day". BBC News. March 30, 2001. Retrieved 2006-11-01.
  9. "After the War: Arab Strike Held Only in Occupied Areas". New York Times. 1991-03-31. Retrieved 2006-02-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. "On the eve of Land Day, Israel Continues Aggression". International Press Center, Palestine. 2006-05-09. Retrieved 2007-05-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  11. "Press Release: Palestine Land Day 2006". BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights. 2006-03-30. Retrieved 2006-03-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. Agence France Press (2002-03-30). "Israeli Arabs Protest Against Arafat Siege on "Land Day"". Common Dreams News Center. Retrieved 2006-11-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. "At least 3 dead in Middle East clashes". CNN. March 30, 2001. Retrieved 2007-05-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. Jeffrey Heller (2001-03-31). "Six Palestinians Killed in Clashes". The Washington Post. pp. A.14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

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