Land Day (Yom al-Ard), is annual day of commemoration for mass displacement of Palestinians and land expropriated by Israeli occupational authorities who aim to develop settlements for migrant Jews.
The event is marked by all Palestinians all over the world on March 30 every year in commemoration of the 1976 Palestinian uprising against Israeli seizure of land inside Israel that left six Palestinian dead in the police crackdown.
The Palestinians, on this day, organise strikes,marches and different national activities in Palestinian towns and refugee camps in different countries to express determination to take back their lands, to end the Israeli occupation and establish their own sovereign state.
Peaceful demonstrations, general strikes and observing the annual event, however, is considered as resistance by the Israeli occupational authority to its policies and threat to its existences in order to justify its excessive violence against innocent and unarmed Palestinians.
During the first day of general strikes in West Bankand Gaza strip on Friday, demonstrators in their peaceful march were targeted by unmanned drones and snipers, killing 16 Palestinians and wounding more than 1,400 civilians.
Israeli occupation forces opened fire against Palestinian demonstrating behind the separation wall posing no threat to the safety of its occupation forces or settlements downplaying any possible reaction from anywhere.
The move was condemned by th international community as excessive use of power against unarmed Palestinians, violation to basic human rights such as the right to peaceful demonstration and express opinions, and the right to resist occupation,especially for people living under occupation for over 70 years.
The UN Security Council held a meeting on Friday at the request of Kuwait to discuss developments in Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories, but members failed to agree a statement on the incident.
This year anniversary is the 42nd and its commemoration has coincided with anger of Palestinians over US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a decision considered as provocative which is going to further fuel the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and destabilize the entire region.
Objection on pressuring Israel in UNSC constitutes a cover for Israel to continue its aggression against the Palestinian people, undermines basic human rights and encourages it to defy UN resolutions aimed at ending its occupation.
Whatever martyrdom the people of Palestine pays, resistance to the Israeli occupation will continue andthey will defend their just cause of establishing their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
