On March 30, Palestinians in Gaza gathered to mark Land Day, an annual commemoration of the six unarmed Palestinians who were killed by Israeli forces in 1976 during protests against Israel’s expropriation of Palestinian-owned land. This year’s event occurred amid increased tensions, as violence targeting Palestinians by Israeli settlers has reached its highest levels since 2006. During the rally, attendees held Palestinian flags and banners asserting their right to their homeland and their right of return.
The rally was addressed by Suhail al-Hindi, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, who stressed that the resistance against Israeli occupation would continue. He also addressed comments made by Israel’s new far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who denied the existence of Palestinians. Khaled al-Batsh, a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad movement, also spoke, emphasizing the importance of national unity in confronting the occupier and the need to rebuild the Palestine Liberation Organization. Khaled al-Batsh, a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad movement, emphasized the need for national unity among Palestinians in confronting the ongoing occupation and changes taking place in the Palestinian territories and the world.
He called for the rebuilding of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as a national reference for the Palestinian people to return, liberate, and fight against the occupier. The PLO was formed in 1964 as an umbrella organization for various Palestinian groups and has played a significant role in the Palestinian national movement.
