RAMALLAH, March 30, 2016 (WAFA) – On the 40th anniversary of Palestine’s Land Day, PLO Secretary General, Saeb Erekat, saluted the ‘heroic’ Palestinian people, calling upon the international community ‘to take action against Tel Aviv‘s racist colonization policies, including its racism against Palestinian citizens of Israel’.
“Israel‘s racist policies are designed to consolidate the idea of a "Jewish state." Rather than supporting the two-state solution on the 1967 border, the Israeli government continues to consider all of historic Palestine as part of Israel with the aim to impose two different systems, an Apartheid regime.”
“Today we‘re marking 40 years since a group of Palestinian citizens rebelled against the expropriation of their lands in the Galilee. The heroism of the people of Sakhnin, Deir Hanna, Arrabeh, Nur Shams, Kufr Qanna, as well as other villages in the Galilee, became an example for the Palestinian nation.”
“ Israel‘s racism and repression killed 6 Palestinians and injured over 100 during these events.”
It is worth mentioning in this regard that, every year, the Palestinian people mark the confiscation of 21 thousand dunums of land in Al-Jalil, AlMuthalth and Al-Naqab on March 30th 1976, for the establishment of new Jewish settlements and military bases.
On this day, the Israeli authorities expropriated the land and responded violently to the protestations, killing six young demonstrators. Hundreds were reportedly injured, while hundreds others were detained.
Erekat said he had met with representatives from the European Union in Palestine, including its members, in order to deliver a message of disappointment regarding the EU‘s position on Palestine at the UN Human Rights Council as well as for the attacks coming from EU officials against civil society non-violent campaigns to end the Israeli occupation that began in 1967.
He have also delivered a letter to the EU high representative, Federica Mogherini, seeking clarification regarding some statements coming from European officials on the matter.
T.R.
