On the eve of March 30, 1976, the occupying government decided to confiscate thousands of dunams of land from Arab Palestinians in several areas of occupied Palestine in 1948, and declared a curfew on the towns of Sakhnin, Arraba, Deir Hanna, Tur'an, Tamra, and Kabul. In response, Palestinian masses declared a general strike, and massive demonstrations began, witnessing violent clashes with the occupation forces. During the suppression of the demonstrations by the occupation authorities, six martyrs fell, three of whom were from Sakhnin, and hundreds of Palestinians were injured and arrested. The significance of this day and its events comes from it being the first time that Palestinians of the 1948 territories organized collectively to confront attempts to seize their lands.
Today, we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Land Day, amidst countless days of the land, on the road thousands of martyrs, injured, and prisoners, and millions displaced. And the everlasting headline, as the late Mahmoud Darwish said, in the voice of every Palestinian, addressing the occupiers:
*O passersby between passing words
It is time to leave
And reside wherever you wish but not among us
It is time to leave
And die wherever you wish but do not die among us
For we have work to do in our land
We have our past here
We have the voice of primal life
We have the present, and the present, and the future
We have the world here... and the hereafter
So leave our land
Our land... our sea
Our wheat... our salt... our wound
Leave everything, and leave
The memories' vocabulary
O passersby between passing words!*
And no more need be said beyond Darwish's words... because what he expresses is the sentiment of the Palestinian, the Arab, and all who defend the values of freedom and justice in this world.
It is the land, and the sons of the land have the final word... and perhaps the best that the land of Palestine can say, comes every day with the persistent and rising resistance carried by the youth, with all prowess and vitality...
