![Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship gather for an event held within the 47th anniversary of Land Day in the city of Sakhnin on March 30, 2023. [Samir Abdalhade/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/resizeddd-1-7.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Palestinians marked Land Day on 30 March. On this day in 1976, the Israeli occupation forces confiscated thousands of dunums of privately owned or communal lands within the borders of areas with a Palestinian majority, and a general strike and marches spread from the Galilee to the Negev. Ten Palestinians were killed, hundreds were wounded, and hundreds more were arrested during the fierce attack by the Israeli occupation security forces.
Land Day is considered a pivotal event in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict over land and in the relationship between Palestinian citizens, as this is the first time, since 1948, that Arabs in Palestine organise large-scale protests in response to Israeli policies in a collective national capacity.
There is no doubt that the celebration of this day is a symbol and a great challenge in breaking the borders imposed by the Nakba and defeats. It is a reminder of the struggle of the Palestinians for 75 years, as there is nothing more precious than the land that can express the patriotism of the Palestinians and embody the struggle for reconciliation and restore national unity between the Palestinian factions. It also expresses the hopes and pains of a people against whom all world powers have worked to divide – or rather to eliminate – from existence.
That is why all Palestinians commemorate this day, both the Palestinians in Palestine and those in the diaspora. The Palestinians in Palestine celebrate it on both sides of the Nakba line, which separates the borders of the Israeli state that was established in 1948, from the occupied territories after the defeat of 1967, as well as on both sides of geography and politics, which is represented by the PA in Ramallah, and the Hamas authority in Gaza.
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It is heartening that the state of Indonesia, a Muslim country, which is geographically far from Palestine and has no diplomatic relations with Israel, has taken a courageous and appreciated stance, coinciding with the celebration of the Palestinian Land Day, as it has taken a decision to exclude Israel from participating in the U-20 World Cup that it is organising, although it was looking forward to hosting the tournament and was fully aware of the consequences of its decision.
Indeed, the punishment came immediately from FIFA, which stripped Indonesia of the right to host the U-20 World Cup, as well as announcing possible sanctions against the Indonesian Football Federation due to Jakarta's objection to the participation of Israel.
There is no doubt that Indonesia's honourable position, which we salute, has proven that human and national principles are above all political and sports calculations and self-interests. It is shameful that Indonesia took this stance at a time when the Zionist Arab regimes are rushing to normalise with Israel, despite the increased barbaric attacks on the Palestinian people and the presence of an extremist right-wing Zionist government in Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu's racist government has sought to subjugate the Israeli judiciary to its authority, and it concerns the Palestinians more than it concerns the Israelis occupying the land, as Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich would control the Israeli decision, enabling them to make decisions dictated by the agenda of the extremist racist religious parties, such as preventing Arabs from entering the Knesset, depriving them of the right to vote, or similar decisions of ethnic cleansing, despite the fact that the Israeli Supreme Court supports the occupation and witnesses with its own eyes the violation of the Palestinians' rights and does not lift a finger to change this.
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Something that is both interesting and drew attention to the demonstrations in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu on the day marking Land Day, is something recorded by Al Jazeera correspondent, Najwan Samrin, showing a young demonstrator who was not carrying an Israeli flag, like the hundreds of other protestors, but rather, carried the Palestinian flag. She reported that he was an Israeli Jew who belongs to the far-left. This image indicates that this young man is alone in his vision, amid the masses, and his presence has not lost its important symbolic value in breaking the consensus, showcasing the separation that the protesters establish between what they consider Israeli democracy threatened by a judicial and governmental coup against it, and the reality of those establishing this democracy excluding others, seizing their land and violating their sanctities, which this lonely young man with the flag seems to reject. There is no doubt that, although this young man seems to be alone, he actually represents a group that includes the left and independent academic, artistic and social individuals who find no one representing them amid the Israeli society's drift towards the extreme right.
It is certain that Palestine is the axis of the world, and the defence of the land of Palestine is a defence of the whole land. While the struggle against religious fascism that rules Israel is a struggle against racism around the world.
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