Land Day in Pictures: Israel, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank

Yesterday, Palestinians marked Land Day by protesting against the Israeli land confiscations with demonstrations in the West Bank, Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan. This year, the protests were also supported by a solidarity campaign known as the Global March to Jerusalem, where Palestinians and allies marched to the Israeli controlled borders of the occupied Palestinians territories. The largest march on the border was in Jordan with between 20,000 and 30,000 protestors, and in Lebanon between 2,000-3,000 marched. In Egypt, the demonstration was cancelled after the state military stopped protestors from joining the march, which would have approached the Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military and police attempted to disperse the protestors, aggressively using crowd dispersal and projectiles, including live ammunition. In Gaza, Israeli fire killed 20-year-old Mahmoud Zakot, and hundreds were injured in the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinians threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli forces.

The West Bank

Across the West Bank, demonstrations took place with reports of excessive Israeli force, including water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets. Additionally, a Long Range Acoustic Device, a sound machine emitting high-frequency noise, and a machine spraying a “skunk” smelling liquid were used on protestors. The Red Crescent counted over 200 people were injured in Qalandia alone, with 85 from rubber bullets. Between 14 and 34 were arrested in Jerusalem, but the total number of arrests is still unknown.

Major protest were held in the cities of Bethlehem, Beit Ummar, Budrus, Jerusalem, Kfar Kadum, Nabi Saleh, Nablus, , Ni’lin, Qalandia, and Safa.

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Israeli border police use pepper spray on Palestinian protestor, near Jerusalem.                     (Photo: Ammar Awad/Reuters)
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Qalandia (Photo: Majdi Mohammed/AP)
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Palestinian sprayed by Israeli police, Qalandia. (Photo: Abbas Momani/AFP)
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Israeli police on horseback suppress demonstrators near the Damascus Gate, Jerusalem.  (Photo: Sebastian Scheiner/AP)
Palestinian man dragged by Israeli forces near the Damascus Gate, Jerusalem. (Photo: Reuters)
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A Palestinian climbs the wall at a checkpoint, Bethlehem. (Photo: Nasser Shiyoukhi/AP)


Near the Erez crossing in Gaza, Israeli forces used fired water cannons, tear gas and live ammunition into crowds of demonstrating Palestinians, resulting in the death of 20-year-old Mahmoud Zakot. In response, Palestinians threw rocks, burned tires and set fire to an Israeli security tower. Protestors in Gaza also participated in the Global March to Jerusalem.

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The funeral of 20-year-old Mahmoud Zako, Gaza. (Photo:Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

The Global March to Jerusalem in Gaza

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Arabic trans. “Global March to Jerusalem,” Gaza. (Photo: Joe Catron)
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Demonstrators praying, Gaza. (Photo: Joe Catron)
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Demonstrators marching, Gaza. (Photo: Joe Catron)
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Gaza. (Photo: Joe Catron)
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Land Day demonstrators, Gaza. (Photo: Julie Webb-Pullman)
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Gaza. (Photo: Joe Catron)
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Gaza. (Photo: Joe Catron)


In Lebanon, between 2,000 and 3,000 protestors amassed in Arnoun near the Crusade-era Beaufort castle located nine miles from the Israeli border.

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Palestinian youth dancing in near the Beaufort castle 9 miles from the Israeli border, Arnoun, Lebanon. (Photo: Mohammed Zaatari/AP)
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Children near Beaufort castle, Arnun, Lebanon. (Photo: Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)


In Israel, demonstrators gathered in the Northern villages of Sakhnin, Araba, and Dier Hanna. On Land Day, Sakhnin holds a special significance, as it is the site of the first Land Day protest in 1976. Today, there is a monument in the village by Palestinian artist Abed Abdi, commemorating the six Palestinians who were at the march by killed by Israeli forces

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Palestinians demonstration near Haifa, Araba, Israel. (Photo: Jack Guez/AFP)
  1. The protest in Lebanon was weak because of the imposed location 9 miles from the border to prevent another cold-blooded massacre by the Israelis. Had it been at the border like at last year’s Nakba Day protest at the Lebanon-Israel border, over 100,000 would have gathered there but there would have also been many Palestinians and Lebanese killed by the zio maniacs.

  2. Question: How are IDF troops operating in Palestine different from the Sturm Abteilung (SA, ‘Storm Troopers’, ‘Brownshirts’)? Substantively and functionally, I see no difference. And little difference ideologically.

    • if it’s substantively a brownshirter, functionally a brownshirter and ideologically a brownshirter, what else can it be but a brownshirter?

  3. “MY COMMENT: These Land Day protests are completely “beyond the pale”!”

    Great site, Dickerson, thanks. Now I know what this term exactly means and where to get the story on other ones; had no idea there was a Jewish historic connection to “beyond the pale”.

    Israel also marks Land Day each tear by preparing its rubber bullets, smoke bombs, water canons, razor wire and spiking its soldiers to hurt and maim as many Palestinians and their supporters as possible. It’s an opportunity for the word’s most moral army to let off some steam. It will get another in 45 days on Nakba Day.

  4. One thing the lobby can’t stop, and that’s the spread of real-time information and live pictures. Unlike MSM’s drivel they speak a thousand words of nothing but naked truth.