Land Day

Young Palestinians march from Sakhnin to Deir Hanna during a Land Day rally, northern Israel, March 30, 1983. (GPO)

Fifty years on, does Land Day still matter for Palestinians in Israel?

Sociologist Nabih Bashir reflects on the enduring legacy of the 1976 uprising against land confiscation, at a time of war, fragmentation, and political impasse.

By Noor Dadosh March 30, 2026

Palestinian citizens of Israel take part in annual Land Day protests in the town of Deir Hanna, March 30, 1983. (Nati Harnik/GPO)

‘A foundational moment for Palestinians’: Remembering the first Land Day

Said Zeedani, who was part of the 1976 strike by Palestinian citizens in which Israel killed six protesters, recalls the build-up to 'a political earthquake.'

By Said Zeedani March 30, 2023

Thousands of Palestinians rally in solidarity with the hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, Nelson Mandela Square, Ramallah, West Bank, May 03, 2017. (Ahmad Al-Bazz/Activestills)

What lessons can Palestinians really take from the struggle of Black South Africans?

With comparisons growing between Israeli and South African apartheid, we must consider the different strategies adopted by both resistance movements.

By Ran Greenstein September 11, 2022

Latest

Palestinian psychologist Asrar Kayyal, whose family were displaced from the village of Al-Birwa, near Akka, during the Nakba. (Faiz Abu Rmeleh)

‘Palestinians handle trauma better when we struggle together to survive’

During the May 2021 uprising, Asrar Kayyal was part of a network of psychologists supporting Palestinian victims of Israeli violence and their families. She talks with +972 about the myriad traumas Palestinians endure.

By Vera Sajrawi August 25, 2022

Raja Eghbaria in court. (Courtesy of Free Raja Eghbarieh Facebook page)

The fifty-year persecution of Raja Eghbaria

For decades, Israel has repeatedly targeted and imprisoned activist Raja Eghbaria without charge. Now the Palestinian citizen is being indicted under the same law that banned six human rights groups last month.

By Jonathan Shamir November 25, 2021

Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces following a protest to mark Land Day in the village of Madama near Nablus, in the West Bank, March 30, 2017. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

Land grabs in Israel never ended — they became more sophisticated

From maintaining British Mandate laws to turning land into national parks, Israel is dispossessing Palestinian citizens to this day, says lawyer Salim Wakim.

By Suha Arraf March 31, 2021

A group of protesters wave a Palestinian flag while trying to take cover during the demonstration, east of Gaza City, March 30, 2019. (Mohammed Zaanoun/Activestills.org)

PHOTOS: Tens of thousands protest along the Gaza fence

Israeli troops kill three and wound hundreds more in the protests marking a year since the Great March of Return protests began, and coming as cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas come to a head. By Mohammed Zaanoun/Activestills.org GAZA CITY — At least 40,000 Palestinians protested at several locations along the fence surrounding the Gaza…

By Activestills March 30, 2019

Thousands of Palestinians march toward the the Gaza-Israel fence during a Great Return March demonstration east of Gaza City, May 14, 2018. (Mohammad Zaanoun)

Everywhere you go in Gaza, you see people wounded in the Return March

Hasan al-Kurd, one of the organizers of last year’s Great March of Return in Gaza, says the protests gave people in Gaza a reason to live. In a frank interview, he talks about the shocking number of casualties, how Hamas took over the nonviolent initiative, and what he would do differently today. “This is kind…

By Rami Younis March 28, 2019

Palestinians try to climb over the separation wall at the Qalandyia checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem on their way to attend the last Friday prayers in Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque during Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Friday, July 1, 2016. (Photo by Flash90)

The changing relationship between Palestinians on either side of the wall

Despite physical separation and internal divisions, Palestinians on both sides of the Green Line are once again talking about the future of their struggle, and the role that Palestinian citizens of Israel can play. Out of sight from most of the Israeli public, yet under the close watch of the government, an internal debate has been raging within…

By Rami Younis July 15, 2018

A Palestinian child fills plastic bottles and jerry cans with drinking water from a public tap at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) headquarters in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, November 28 ,2012. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash 90)

Gaza’s humanitarian crisis began long before Hamas

The deliberate suffocation of Gaza began in the 90s, when the first restrictions on the movement of Palestinians were introduced. By Amir Rotem A macabre drama has been playing out every Friday along the border fence separating the Gaza Strip and Israel, complete with live broadcasts, press coverage, commentary, and even real-time spectators. An armed military stands on…

By +972 Magazine April 11, 2018

Israeli snipers seen on the border with Gaza during the Great March of Return, March 30, 2018. (IDF Spokesperson)

As soldiers, we too were told to open fire at protesters in Gaza

I was on the border with Gaza six years ago. The same marchers, the same protest. Even the orders to open fire at crowds of people remained the same. By Shai Eluk I was there six years ago. It was Friday, March 30, 2012. Land Day on the border with Gaza. Demonstrations began after Friday…

By +972 Magazine April 2, 2018

Palestinian demonstrators evacuate a protester who was shot by Israeli army snipers along the Gaza border during the Great Return March, east of Shujaiyeh, March 30, 2018. (+972 Magazine)

Photos: Tens of thousands march on Gaza border, Israeli troops open fire

At least 12 Palestinians are killed and 1,100 wounded as Israeli forces open fire on Palestinian protesters gathering at the Gaza-Israel border fence to mark the beginning of ‘The Great Return March,’ a 45-day-long series of events and protests planned to culminate on May 15 — Nakba Day. Despite using deadly force against the demonstrators Israeli army…

By +972 Magazine March 30, 2018

An Israeli soldier raises his rifle toward unarmed Palestinian protesters along the border fence separating Israel and Gaza, Gaza Strip, near the Nahal Oz crossing, October 30, 2015. (Ezz Zanoun/Activestills.org)

Gaza ‘Return March’ organizer: ‘We’ll ensure it doesn’t escalate to violence — on our end’

Palestinians in Gaza are planning 45 days of protests along the border with Israel leading up to the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, and they fear Israeli troops may open fire. One of the organizers speaks to +972 Magazine about why he believes hundreds of thousands of people will show up, and what message he’d…

By Rami Younis March 27, 2018