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On Land Day, 29 March, at the Martyrs
Cultural Center
in the Palestinian town of Dura,
the first meeting of organized by the Land Day Memorial Committee took place. More
than 100 people, coming as representatives of various associations and as
individuals participated in a two-hour meeting. During the meeting, the Land Research
Center gave a presentation, including
discussion of the settlements, the Wall, resources, the problems in East Jerusalem.
Israeli settlements are a big problem in the Hebron
district, which is not only surrounded by them but is also the only city in the
West Bank that has settlements located inside
the city. The violence perpetrated by the settlers in the area grows stronger
every day, and the situation has attracted many international organizations who
work to protect the civilian population. The expansion of these settlements is
the main reason for the confiscation of Palestinian land—a process that pushes
the Palestinian population away form what the settlers consider their own holy
land.
The building of the wall in the Hebron
region appears to many to be halted. In reality, only in the old city of Hebron is construction of the wall being stopped; it
continues at pace around Hebron
and the nearby villages. Daily, the villagers can see their land be confiscated
for “security reasons” a wall surrounding them, separating them from access to
social services like schools and hospitals.
The Wall is also functions as an Israeli tool for the cooption of resources.
This strategy has two different goals: to prevent the possibility for the Palestinians
to be independent, to assure that the Israelis can continue their expansionist
policies.
This relates closely to the issue of of East
Jerusalem, with the intention of the Israeli municipality to clear
the area from of its Palestinian population and to maintain a Palestinian minority.
The Israeli government implements a few strategies to achieve this goal: the
denial of citizenship to the Palestinians living in the area, permitting them
only a resident card allowing them to stay, but without the right to either vote
or to have access to the social services in the city; the demolition of Palestinian
homes in the areas, along with the expansion of Israeli settlement in order to
create a ring around the city; and the ongoing construction of the Wall,
completely closing off East Jerusalem, with the intention to separate the
Jewish areas from the Palestinian one’s, transforming the Palestinian
neighborhoods into ghettos.
After discussion of these issues, a screening of the film Aljahalin was
held, followed by a discussion of the main issues of the film. The event finished
with a Dabka dance show and Palestinian music.
On 30 March, a second meeting organized by the LDMC in the Hebron district was held in the town of Idna. As in the previous meeting meeting, almost
100 persons attended. The meeting began with a speech about the importance of Land
Day for the Palestinians, emphasizing the historical importance of the land for
all the Palestinians, and how this relates to the Israeli government’s ongoing
policy of land confiscation.
The Israeli government legalized these land confiscations under the
Absentees’ Property Law of March 1950. According to this law, Israel
transferred the right of owners of the land to a Custodian of Absentee Property.
This law was used to confiscate lands belonging to the over 700,000 Palestinian
refugees who were expelled from Palestine
in 1948.
On March 30, 1976, Palestinians in Sakhnin and Arrabeh in northern Israel organized a general strike and various
demonstrations in protest against the Israeli authorities’ decision to
confiscate Palestinian land in the Galilee.
The Israeli military and police responded violently to the protest, killing six
Palestinian residents of Israel.
Land Day is a way to commemorate those people and to reaffirm the intention of
the Palestinian population to continue their struggle for their rights.
During the event, the Statement of the LDMC was distributed and
discussed with the participants, and explained to the local media, who were
invited to attend. This event also event ended with Dabka music and
Palestinians dance.
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