DEIR HANNA: Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian citizens of the Zionist entity rallied Friday for an end to the Gaza war as they marked Land Day, an annual commemoration of a deadly 1976 crackdown on protests against Zionist land seizures. The protesters, led by Arab members of the Zionist entity’s parliament, marched through the northern town of Deir Hanna waving Palestinian flags and carrying banners reading: “Stop the war on Gaza”.

Most of the demonstrators were Arab citizens of the Zionist entity -- Palestinians who evaded displacement during the 1948 war that led to the Zionist entity’s creation and who, with their descendants, now constitute around 21 percent of its population. A smaller contingent of Jewish citizens of the Zionist entity joined the rally, some carrying signs reading: “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies”.

Land Day commemorates protests and a strike on March 30, 1976 against a decision by the Zionist authorities to seize large swathes of land in the northern Galilee region. Zionist police fired at demonstrators, killing six people, and the government plan was subsequently dropped.

A woman holding a placard chants slogans during a rally marking the 48th anniversary of Land Day, in the town of Deir Hanna in the northern Galilee region on March 30, 2024.

People deploy a banner and wave Palestinian national flags during a rally marking the 48th anniversary of Land Day, in the town of Deir Hanna in the northern Galilee region on March 30, 2024.

People wave Palestinian national flags during a rally marking the 48th anniversary of Land Day, in the town of Deir Hanna in the northern Galilee region on March 30, 2024.

“On this day 48 years ago, our people thwarted the project to confiscate our lands with their protests... and they embodied an important and prominent milestone in history,” Deir Hanna town council chief Saeed Hussein said in a speech in its main square. “48 years have passed, yet the machine of death and displacement persists... the attempt to erase our national identity and seize our lands continues.” The Zionist entity’s Arab citizens suffer higher rates of unemployment, poverty and crime than their Jewish peers. Community leader and former lawmaker Mohammed Barakeh said Arabs were still facing “displacement and repression”.

“This flesh that burns in Gaza is ours and the women murdered in Gaza are our sisters,” he said, denouncing the genocide in the Palestinian territory. Since war broke out nearly six months ago, the Zionist entity’s Arab citizens say they have experienced growing hostility from the government and from other Zionists.

Eyal, a 33-year-old Jewish activist, said he joined the rally in solidarity with Arabs. “We demand an end to the massacres by the Zionist government in Gaza and an end to the war on Gaza,” he said, asking to be identified by his first name only. — AFP