Palestinians commemorate 47th anniversary of Land Day in context marked by harrowing crimes, intensification of Zionist settlement operations (Special dossier)
By: Hana Saada
ALGIERS– The Palestinian people commemorated, Thursday, the 47th anniversary of Yom Al-Ard, also known as Land Day, celebrated since March 30, 1976, in tribute to those who fell as martyrs under the bullets of the Zionist occupation by defending their illegally confiscated lands and revolting against exile, displacement, dispossession and Judaization.
Land Day was decreed in remembrance of the events of March 30, 1976 when the Palestinian population revolted against the decision of the Zionist entity to confiscate large proportions of Palestinian lands in 1976. Back then, the Zionists planned to expropriate thousands of dunums of land (1 dunum = 1000 meters squared) for ‘security and settlement purposes.’ As a response, a general strike and marches were organized in Arab towns from the Galilee to the Negev.
This operation had led to the destruction of 418 Arab villages with a ban on their inhabitants to return. The clashes with the occupying forces left six Palestinians dead, hundreds injured and thousands of arrests. The event was significant because it marked the first Palestinian national collective act by Arabs in these Palestinian towns.
Since then, the Palestinian people have commemorated Land Day every year, organizing a series of demonstrations and rallies across the occupied Palestinian territories, being an opportunity to reaffirm their attachment to their roots, their homeland and their history marked by resistance in the face of the occupier who continues to monopolize their resources and land.
It also constitutes a new opportunity to confirm the unity of the Palestinian territories, the Palestinian people and the Palestinian identity, as well as fidelity to the memory of the martyrs and their sacrifices made to defend their land and their rights.
For its part, the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine, an umbrella organization for associations and activists that support the Palestinian cause worldwide, held, this year, many activities and initiatives, including, the raising of Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian banners as well as the launch of the electronic campaign, using the Hashtag: #TheNameIsPalestine, expressing the consistent dedication to the liberation of all of the land of Palestine.
This-year Land Day, celebrated also in the Arab world and by freedom-loving people all over the world, will take place in a context marked by harrowing crimes committed by the Zionist regime, the intensification of the Zionist settlement operations in Palestine, particularly in occupied El-Quds, and the persistent blockage of the peace process, exacerbated by the normalization of relations between the Zionist entity and some Arab countries, dubbed as a betrayal to the Palestinian cause.
The Palestinian people continue to face the ongoing Nakba, exemplified in their denial to return to their homes and the ongoing displacement on both sides of the Green Line.
Therefore, this day is an occasion, for us, to celebrate, intensify and uphold Palestinian resistance to Zionism, colonialism, apartheid and occupation, recalling those whose lives have been stolen in defense of the land and people of Palestine, and to organize and struggle for return and liberation, from the river to the sea.
Illegality of settlements reaffirmed at UN
Aware of the value and importance of the land for the Palestinian people and their attachment to the right of return, at all costs, the Zionist occupier is ineluctably pursuing its illegal policy of establishing settlements in order to drive out the Palestinians and impose the fait accompli, thus ignoring the stance of the international community and all international charters and laws that consider the colonization of the Palestinian land contrary to international conventions.
Disregarding the international community, the Zionist occupation, on Friday, issued calls for tenders for the construction of more than 1,000 homes in the occupied West Bank.
On February 22 and 23, plans to build more than 7,000 housing units in settlements across the occupied West Bank were approved. These units were part of the plans announced by the occupier on February 12, not to mention the decision to retroactively authorize nine outposts in the occupied West Bank, which caused an international outcry.
For the Palestinians, these unilateral measures are unacceptable in view of the international resolutions and bilateral agreements signed. They will lead to more tension and escalation, while the international community has rejected and condemned the decision of the Zionist entity to “legalize” nine illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, qualifying it as “a contempt” and a new “provocation to the Palestinian people”.
And even more recently, nine member States of the Security Council, namely; Brazil, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and France, reaffirmed the illegality of the settlements.
In a joint statement written and made public last Wednesday, the nine countries reiterated the request of the Security Council to the Zionist entity to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East El Quds”.
According to the latest report of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on the protection of civilians, which covers the period from February 28 to March 13, the Zionist occupation has demolished, confiscated and forced people to demolish 35 structures – eight of which had been provided by donors as humanitarian assistance – in Area C and East El-Quds.
The document said that February “represented the highest monthly number of structures demolished in East El-Quds since April 2019”, noting that a total of 36 structures were demolished, compared to a monthly average of 11 in 2022.
Demolition of 953 Palestinian houses by Zionist entity in 2022
The Zionist authorities demolished 953 Palestinian homes in the West Bank, including East Quds, in 2022, the highest number since 2016, according to a European Union (EU) document.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the office of the European Union representative in Palestine said that “953 buildings have been demolished or seized in the West Bank, including the city of East El Quds, the highest number recorded since 2016. “.
“28,446 people have been displaced following the demolitions”, specified the same source.
The statement said that “101 demolished buildings were financed by the EU or its members for a value of 337,000 euros, which represents the third largest financial loss (for the union) since 2016”.
The same source noted that the demolitions in the village of Al-Walaja, west of Beit Lahm, and in the Masafer Yatta region, south of El Khalil, were “a source of great concern for the countries of the EU”.
Palestinian people continue to lose territory to the Zionists
Palestinian people continue to lose territory to the Zionists, while their living conditions have deteriorated more and more amid poverty, denial of fundamental freedoms through the systemic discrimination and subjugation, forcible evictions, and demolition orders of Palestinian property. This culminated, more recently, in spurring violence that claimed the lives of innocent women, children, and the elderly. There is a deliberate intention by the Zionist occupation forces to inflict more casualties among the civilians to push the Palestinian people to accept the existence of the Zionist Entity.
Noting that the decision on the forced displacement is itself a war crime and aggression against humanity, transforming the Zionist judiciary into a barbaric tool to pass racist Zionist expansion agendas to the detriment of the Palestinian civilians.
The Zionists are committing violations against worshipers in Al-Quds “Jerusalem” by preventing them from accessing places of worship, at the top of which, Al-Aqsa Mosque, the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims, resorting to an excessive force against them in a way that threatens their lives and most likely leads to death.
The Zionist Entity is committing crimes of apartheid and persecution against Arabs in the occupied territories, with a view to maintaining the domination by Jewish Zionists over Palestinians.
The Zionist regime has become the sole governing power alongside extremely-limited Palestinian self-rule, where the Zionists are methodically highly-privileged, while Palestinians have been dispossessed, confined, forcibly separated, and subjugated by virtue of their identity to varying degrees of intensity. In certain areas, these deprivations are so severe that they amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution.
Noting that the Apartheid system was a policy of racial segregation and discrimination enforced by the white minority government against the black majority in South Africa from 1948 until 1991.
The 1973 International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid defines apartheid as “inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group and systematically oppressing them”. The 1998 Rome Statute to the International Criminal Court (ICC) adopts a similar definition.
For its part, Human Rights Watch’s 213-page report, entitled: “A Threshold Crossed,” states that Palestinians are suffering from the Apartheid;
“Denying millions of Palestinians their fundamental rights, without any legitimate security justification and solely because they are Palestinian and not Jewish is not simply a matter of an abusive occupation,” said Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch’s executive director.
“These policies, which grant Jewish Israelis the same rights and privileges wherever they live and discriminate against Palestinians to varying degrees wherever they live, reflect a policy to privilege one people at the expense of another.”
The Palestinian cause taken hostage
In 2020, a watershed year for the Zionists’ diplomatic integration into the Arab world, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco have normalized their relations with the Zionist entity, within the framework of the “Abraham Accords”.
This is a political error, a betrayal of Al-Quds, al-Aqsa mosque and the Palestinian cause, and a stab in the back of the Palestinians. For the latter, such normalization with the Zionist Entity encourages the occupation forces to commit more violations against the Palestinian people, paving the way for more aggressive war and the expansion of Zionism, Judaization, and colonization of Palestinian land.
It is in this wake that a vast outpouring of international solidarity with the Palestinian people was launched, in particular, in countries that have normalized their relations with the Zionist entity through demonstrations, sit-ins, and protests against these agreements.
Morocco and Palestine
Morocco, whose king is the Chairman of the El-Quds Committee, normalized its relations with the Zionist Entity on December 10, 2020, in exchange for the recognition by former US President Donald Trump of the kingdom’s alleged “sovereignty” over Western Sahara.
This barter was condemned, in the strongest terms, throughout the world and especially by Algeria and the Moroccan people who took to the streets for several days to express their rejection of this agreement, organizing demonstrations often repressed by the regime in place.
More recently, the Makhzen regime and the Zionist entity inked a framework agreement aimed at strengthening the security cooperation between the Moroccan and the Zionist intelligence services amidst broad popular disagreement. A move dubbed as shameful and disgraceful by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Moroccans seized the opportunity of the Land Day anniversary to take to the streets in mass with slogans against the normalization of relations with the Zionist Entity.
Algeria and Palestine
Algeria, the land of patriotism and martyrdom, the country of a million and a half martyrs, like Palestinians. Algerians are known for their unconditional support of the Palestinian cause.
In his first UNGA international speech from his office in El-Mouradia, Algerian President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune strongly criticized the Abraham Accords with the Zionist Entity, emphasizing that Algeria will never trot fast to join the “normalization” process.
President Tebboune, urged, on different occasions, the international community to assume its historic responsibilities towards the practices of Zionist occupation aimed at undermining the building of the sovereign Palestinian state, while reiterating Algeria’s unwavering and firm support for the struggle of the Palestinian people to recover their stolen rights. He stressed, once again, with a well-articulated position, his rejection of all forms of normalization with the Zionist Entity, deploring the four Arab countries’ scrambling to normalize relations.
“We have noticed a kind of scramble (a mad rush) towards normalization. This is something we will never participate in, nor bless. Palestine’s cause is sacred, and we will not give it up,” the Algerian President said.
He invited all Palestinian groups to a comprehensive meeting in Algeria which culminated in the signing of Algiers’ Declaration that unified all Palestinian factions. Tebboune’s move was applauded by Palestinians and Algerians alike, who have a long history of intertwined solidarity. Furthermore, President Tebboune dedicated 2022 Algiers’ Arab Summit to this noble cause.
Palestinian factions praised President Tebboune for his government’ strong opposition to any bids aimed at establishing ties with the Zionist Entity, calling on Arab rulers to follow suit and reject all forms of normalization.
Algerians and Palestinians: Untold love story that cemented the two countries’ anchored relations
There is no doubt that when Algerian President Tebboune called the Palestinian cause “sacred and an internal matter”, he was truly speaking on behalf of the Algerian people whose history is marked by resistance against colonial powers. Algerians remain stick to their pro-Palestine stance, considering the Palestinian cause the mother of all causes. Their beliefs about national sovereignty and the right for countries to determine their own destiny are central, firmly committed to the principles of a sovereigntist governing ideology, based on their national pride, far away from any quid pro quo deals, capable of exercising foreign pressure on their country.
Algeria espouses the Palestinian cause, making the Palestinian legitimate struggle Algeriaʼs sacred cow. The Palestinian cause had been carved in the national memory of Algerians through generations. The Algerian people have shown numerous solidarity stands with the Palestinian people, especially during football matches that include thousands cheering for Palestine as football fans from stadium bleachers chant “Palestine Martyrs” (Falastine Al-Chouhada) as if the Palestine national team is on the field.
To wit; in February 2016, when the Palestinian Olympic team beat the Algerian national team 1-0, Algerian fans had filled the Mohammed Boudiaf Olympic Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 80,000, with Palestinian flags, cheering, against all odds, for the Palestinian national team. Algerian fans were saying: “Today, it is not about football match, it is all for Palestine.”
This historical friendly match made an exception to the rule, where Algerian fans cheered for the Palestinian team, and Palestinian fans cheered for the Algerian team. The motto of the match was “We are with Palestine whether unjust or oppressed,” a phrase that was spoken by the late Algerian president, Houari Boumediene.
On the other hand, Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank took to the streets, in July 2019, celebrating Algeriaʼs victory in a match against Senegal in the 2019 African Cup of Nations final in Cairo, Egypt, chanting: “One, two, three viva lʼAlgérie.”
More recently in 2022, Algerian soldiers raised the Palestinian flag during a military March on the anniversary of Independence Day of Algeria.
The historical bond comes from the mutuality of struggle, as Algeria is known as the country of one million and a half martyrs who martyred for the freedom of their land, though the real number exceeds five million martyrs.
Chronologically, in 1965, the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) first office in Algeria was opened in Victor Hugo Street in Algiers and headed by Ibrahim Khalil al-Wazir, also known as Abou Jihad, who was assassinated by Mossad in 1988 in Tunis.
We all remember those immortal pictures in 1974, at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, when PLO chairman Yasser Arafat was invited to the 29th session of the UNGA that was chaired by Algeria’s then Foreign Affairs Minister, and the late President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. In a historic moment, President Boumedienne stood hand in hand with PLO chairman Yasser Arafat on the UNGA podium, followed by a speech in which the PLO leader praised Algerian leadership for its unwavering support for the Palestinian cause. This move was a diplomatic victory, and an international political shift that fortified the PLO leader’s charisma worldwide.
In addition, President Boumedienne used the famous line: “We are with Palestine whether unjust or oppressed,” a line which has become a slogan of all Algerians.
In 1975, Algeria did sponsor a resolution equating Zionism with racism. Since then, Algeria has become the voice of the voiceless on the world stage.
In June 1988, Algeria held an Arab leaders summit entitled the “Al-Intifada Summit,” led by the late President Chadli Bendjedid. At this summit, only one cause was tabled, namely; the mother of all cause, Palestine. The participants discussed mechanisms to support the Palestinian Intifada in the occupied Palestinian territories.
When Palestine declared, from Algiers, its independence, Algeria was the very first country worldwide to officially recognize its statehood. This decision further contributed to the deeply-rooted Algerian-Palestinian relations. Even when other Arab states, notably those which signed the “Abraham Accords”, dropped their pan-Arab commitments to the Palestinian struggle, Algeria has stood by the cause.
Except from the declaration:
“Based on the natural, historical and legal right of the Palestinian Arab people to their homeland Palestine and the sacrifices of their successive generations in defense of the freedom and independence of their homeland and on the basis of the resolutions of the Arab summits, and the strength of international legitimacy embodied by United Nations resolutions since 1947, and in the exercise by the Palestinian Arab people of their right to self-determination, political independence and sovereignty over his land, The National Council announces, in the name of God and in the name of the Palestinian Arab people, the establishment of the State of Palestine on our Palestinian land, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif (The holy Jerusalem) as its capital.”
In 2018, the Algerian postal services issued a postage stamp in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the declaration of the Palestinian state in 1988.
For their part, the Palestinian resistance movements hailed Algeria’s principled positions, describing the signing, by the Moroccan regime, of several agreements, particularly in the security and military spheres, with the Zionist enemy as an unjustified act whatever the pretext or the objective.
For them, the disgraceful normalization and the signing of agreements between Rabat and the Zionist Entity “would lead the Zionists to commit more crimes against the Palestinian Arab people and to the violation of their legitimate rights to freedom, independence and return “.
On the other hand, and more recently, the plans of the Zionists to sneak quietly into the African Union as an observer state have been, spectacularly, backfired as Algeria and South Africa garnered huge support to oppose the Zionists’ affiliation.
The tireless efforts exerted by Algeria, alongside its friends to rescind the observer status granted to the Zionist Entity in the African Union (AU), have been crowned with success. The Zionist entity’s observer status in AU has been suspended on the second day of the 35th African Union Summit held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, under the theme: “Strengthening Food Security: Accelerating the Development of Human, Social and Economic Capital in the African Continent.”
In addition, the intervention of Algeria and South Africa, two countries known for their unwavering support of the inalienable right of the Palestinian people, to expel a delegation of the Zionist Entity, headed by the Deputy Director of Africa at the Foreign Ministry of the occupation, Sharon Bar-li, accompanied by its ambassador to Addis Ababa, after they tried to sneak into the hall hosting the works of the 36th ordinary session of the African Union assembly in the Ethiopian capital, February 18, 2023, has been crowned with success.
The Zionists sneaked into the hall using entry cards that were granted for other participants, but the Algerian delegation noticed this violation of the AU regulations and asked, along with the South African representatives at the presidency of the African Union, to expel them.
The expulsion incident came at a time when the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, was sitting on the main podium at the opening session of the African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and was warmly received by African leaders and delivered the speech of the State of Palestine.
Returning to this-year celebration, it constitutes a new opportunity for many free countries and brave peoples to express their unwavering and coherent support for the Palestinian people, calling on the international community to translate its words into actions in the face of the dangerous escalation in the Palestinian territories and the UN to honor its commitments.
Epilogue
To this end, the whole world is also called upon to exert real pressure on the Zionist Entity… the enemy of humanity with a view to putting an end to its systematic violation of human rights and enforcement of discrimination against the Palestinian people. Besides, the UN and its member states should take appropriate actions as 75 years since the General Assembly adopted resolution 181 (II) to partition Palestine into two separate states, no concrete actions have been taken so far.
Instead, the hope of achieving sustainable political settlements is fading away with an entity blatantly showing disdain for international human rights law, including two key international human rights instruments, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Convention on Socioeconomic and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), both of which have as their first Article, the Right to Self-Determination, as well as a continuous disrespect of internationally adopted provisions and principles in this direction.
The UN should be held accountable for its evident lack of action in recent years. It lost its credibility for non-abide by the adopted resolutions and turning a blind eye to the Zionists who blatantly flout the relevant UN resolutions, laws of international legitimacy, and international terms of reference, and deny agreements in an attempt to impose the status quo policy, and hamper the building of the sovereign Palestinian state.
This organization is called upon to honor its commitments to defend international law and order, work to hold the Zionist occupation accountable for the overruns and violations committed, ensure international protection, and stave off attacks and violations against the Palestinian people and their sanctities.
The international community, on the other hand, should re-evaluate its relationship with the Zionist Entity, establish a commission of inquiry to investigate the systematic discrimination and repression in Palestine, transcend rhetoric, deploy further efforts in defense of the Palestinians inalienable rights and bring Zionists into compliance with international law.
Palestinian leaders should put on the shelf their domestic rifts, creating a united front aimed at addressing the onus fallen on their shoulders. A favorable atmosphere should be created to address the catastrophic ordeal the Palestinians are passing through.
Finally, addressing ourselves, our collective conscience should react to concrete and permanent actions, not momentary reactions as events unfold!
As we mark the Palestinian Day of the Land, we salute the Palestinian prisoners, locked behind bars for their defense of their land and people and reiterate: ” From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”
