Palestinians strike to mark 40th Land Day anniversary

The general strike was called by the Palestinian Higher Monitoring Committee, which includes Palestinian members of the Knesset and local council heads.

It is set to take place in towns and villages that fall inside the boundaries of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 and later declared as the State of Israel.

Many business and local services inside Palestinian towns and villages are closed, although schools were not included in the general strike.

"We reaffirm our support of Palestinians in the face of Israel's appropriation of their land," Hassan Baryajeya, member of the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission told The New Arab.

"Jewish settlers pose a real threat to Palestinian land as they quietly work to come closer and confiscate it," Baryajeya said.

"It is a national duty to help the Palestinian families to keep hold of their lands and prevent Israeli authorities from taking them," he added.

Protesters planted olive trees in commemoration of the 1976 demonstrations against Israel's appropriation of Palestinian land in the Galilee.

Protests kicked off in Negev as further rallies are planned to take place across the Galilee

Wednesday's rallies kicked off in Negev, southern Palestine, with further protests planned to take place across the Galilee.

A number of events will be held in the northern town of Arraba, one of the largest Palestinian local councisl in the State of Israel, as well as in Deir Hanna and Kafr Kanna.

Demonstrations were also planned in Umm al-Hiran, where Israeli planning authorities were reported earlier this month to be planning to build a "new town for Jewish residents," according to Israeli daily Ha'aretz.

Despite wide-spread international condemnation of land seizures further confiscations continue to be tabled by Israeli authorities.

"The Israeli civil administration is planning to confiscate some 1,200 dunams [296.5 acres] of land from Palestinian villages in northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus," Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported last week.

Once confiscated, Palestinian lands are often then used as locations to establish illegal Jewish settlements.

"Israeli authorities over the decades have seized land near Qaryut to establish the settlements of Eli, Shilo and Mizpe Rahel, at least ten settlement outposts, as well as two military bases," Ma'an reported.

"This systematic land grab constitutes a flagrant violation of international law," Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah said last week.

Land Day in Palestine marks the events of 1976, when Palestinians took to the streets to protest against Israel's illegal confiscation of land as authorities announced plans to take land from a number of Palestinian territories in Galilee.

Clashes in the protests of 1976 broke out between the Israeli forces and the Palestinian protesters and six Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli fire as dozens more were injured.

The day remains symbolic as the first mass protest action by Palestinians living inside Israel and continues to be remembered until today as Palestinians struggle to hold onto their lands.