Above photo: Photos from the massive Palestine solidarity demonstration on March 2, which saw the participation of several government ministers and leaders of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela in Caracas.
In Solidarity With Palestine.
On March 30, people’s movements and working class parties around the world mark Land Day as Palestinians continue to resist against land theft and genocide
The International Peoples’ Assembly (IPA), representing political organizations and people’s movements across five continents, has called for massive mobilizations worldwide to mark the Yawm al-Ard (Land Day)—a day to celebrate the struggle of Palestinians against occupation.
Land Day marks the anniversary of the killing of six protesters by the Israeli occupation on March 30, 1976, in response to a general strike and marches organized by Palestinians. On that day, large-scale demonstrations were carried out by Palestinians across historic Palestine against the Israeli government’s plan to expropriate thousands of dunums of Arab-owned land near the sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias). Over 100 were wounded in the protests as well, and hundreds were arrested.
“For almost six months we have witnessed a criminal genocide in Palestine carried out with impunity by Israel and with the unwavering support of the United States,” stated the IPA. “This March 30, we highlight the targeted repression, imprisonment and violence against Palestinian youth and students. The occupation has targeted more than 350 educational institutions for destruction, in an effort to dismantle Palestinian civil society.”
The demands highlighted by the IPA include a call for an end to “genocide, starvation and displacement” of the Palestinian people, and “immediate and unhampered entry of humanitarian aid” into Palestine, an end to “aggressions against Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and other countries in the region,” an end “to all actions of repression against students, student movements and youth and defend the Palestinian’s right to resistance” and the release of the over 10,000 Palestinian political prisoners detained by Israeli occupation forces.
The Arab and Maghreb Youth Student Front Against Normalization and in Support of People’s Struggle, which has been struggling against the normalization of relations with Israel across West Asia and North Africa, put out an international call to action for Land Day, with the following demands, “Cease the Zionist entity’s genocidal campaign in Gaza and release all prisoners. Facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza by opening border crossings. Terminate all normalization agreements with the Zionist entity.”
“Let’s make Palestinian Land Day an international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people,” the student front stated.
Every year, mass mobilizations take place in Palestine to mark Land Day. Last year, thousands took to the streets in Gaza. In 2018, Palestinians in Gaza launched the peaceful Great March of Return on Land Day, which went on for two years and was met with lethal violence by the IOF. Palestinians in Gaza launched the Great March of Return, marching periodically to the border with Israel to demand an end to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade and the right of return of Palestinian refugees. As many as 260 Palestinians were killed by Israeli snipers and around 13,000 were injured during the Great March of Return protests.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a left Palestinian resistance force, released a poem in advance of Land Day. It reads: “Advance, advance/Every land beneath you is hell/On the anniversary of the immortal Land Day/Glory to the arms that protect the land./Glory to those who illuminated the path of freedom and independence with their blood/Glory to our people.”
Actions are expected to take place in Palestine and across North Africa and West Asia—which have already erupted in protest. Protests in Jordan and Morocco are entering their fourth day, demanding that these governments sever ties with Israel as it carries out genocide in Gaza. These protests, also taking place in Iraq, Egypt, and the West Bank, broke out in support of the UNSC ceasefire resolution, demanding that the resolution is implemented immediately and calling out Arab leaders for complicity in genocide, especially demanding that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi open the Rafah border crossing.
In Amsterdam, Utrecht for Palestine and PGNL (Palestinian community in the Netherlands) called a mobilization in Dam Square.
Actions have also been planned across the United States, calling out the major role that the country plays in Israel’s genocide by supplying weapons, aid, and upholding the Zionist project. These actions have been called by members of the Shut it Down for Palestine coalition, which includes the Palestinian Youth Movement, the People’s Forum, the ANSWER Coalition, Dissenters, and National Students for Justice in Palestine. In New York City, a mass mobilization will convene in Times Square. A Pacific Northwest regional march will convene in Lake Union Park in Seattle. Protests are also taking place in cities such as Atlanta, Phoenix, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Antonio.