On the Anniversary of Land Day The International Commission (ICSPR) Calls on the International Community to Stop the Genocidal War in Gaza and Confront Colonial Annexation, Forced Displacement, and Land Confiscation by the Israeli Occupation

Date : 30 Mar 2025

Press Release
“On the Anniversary of Land Day”

The International Commission (ICSPR) Calls on the International Community to Stop the Genocidal War in Gaza and Confront Colonial Annexation, Forced Displacement, and Land Confiscation by the Israeli Occupation

Today, Saturday, March 30, 2024, marks the 49th anniversary of Palestinian Land Day, a day commemorated annually by Palestinians on March 30. The event dates back to March 1976, when Israeli authorities confiscated thousands of dunums of privately owned or communal Palestinian land within areas predominantly inhabited by Palestinians. Land Day is a pivotal event in the struggle over land and the relationship between Palestinian citizens and the Israeli political system.

This anniversary also coincides with the seventh anniversary of the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege, which resulted in the martyrdom of hundreds and the injury of thousands of unarmed Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip.

This year’s Land Day comes amid the celebration of Eid al-Fitr, while the Palestinian people endure catastrophic conditions, particularly in Gaza, due to the ongoing Israeli genocidal war, which has lasted for 18 consecutive months. This aggression has led to the killing of over 50,000 civilians, the injury of 114,000 others, and the disappearance of approximately 14,000 people under the rubble. Additionally, 88% of Gaza’s homes, buildings, infrastructure, and economic and service sectors have been destroyed, as Israeli forces persist in their crime of ethnic cleansing and genocide against the Palestinian people and their rights, further deepening the occupation of Gaza.

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli occupation forces and terrorist settler militias are accelerating their colonial annexation and settlement expansion policies, particularly in Jerusalem, aimed at erasing Islamic and Christian landmarks, displacing Palestinians, seizing land, demolishing homes, restricting construction, erecting the apartheid wall, expanding illegal settlements, and legitimizing settler outposts. These actions have fragmented Palestinian cities and villages. Since the formation of the current extremist right-wing Israeli government, settlement activity has notably escalated, and settler attacks have increased. The number of settlers in illegal West Bank settlements, including occupied East Jerusalem, has now surpassed 850,000.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli occupation authorities have seized over 52,000 dunums of Palestinian land, issued 13 military orders establishing buffer zones around settlements, and established 70 new colonial outposts. The crimes committed by Israeli forces in the West Bank have resulted in the killing of 890 Palestinians, the injury of approximately 7,000 others, and the forced displacement of around 60,000 people from the northern West Bank.

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces continue their crimes against Palestinian prisoners, with approximately 15,700 arrests recorded in the West Bank since the start of the genocidal war, in addition to around 8,500 arrests in the Gaza Strip.

Furthermore, Israel is intensifying its systematic racial discrimination and fascist policies against Palestinian Arabs in the occupied territories of 1948, including land confiscations. These actions are being carried out amid clear international silence and inaction, as well as unwavering U.S. support for Israeli plans of annexation, displacement, and the liquidation of the Palestinian cause.

On this occasion, the International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) joins the Palestinian people in commemorating Land Day and salutes their steadfastness, particularly in Gaza, which is enduring a genocide. The Commission honors the martyrs and wounded who have sacrificed their blood for this land and strongly condemns the ongoing genocide and Israeli aggression in Gaza. It reiterates its severe condemnation of Israel’s crimes of genocide, forced displacement, colonial settlement, racial discrimination, annexation, and land confiscation. The Commission also reminds the international community of the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people since 1948, including displacement, refuge, and continuous human rights violations. It reaffirms the Palestinian people’s right to resist Israel’s denial of their legitimate and inalienable rights, including their right to self-determination, the return of refugees, and an end to Israeli occupation.

In light of these grave circumstances, the International Commission (ICSPR) calls for the following:

1. The International Commission (ICSPR) condemns the continued genocide against the people of Gaza and the international community’s failure to stop it, as Israeli leaders and soldiers continue to enjoy impunity. This impunity fuels further suffering by depriving Palestinians of their right to self-determination.

2. The International Commission (ICSPR) urges the UN Security Council to expedite the enforcement of its resolution to cease fire, take serious action to counter Israeli plans for the forced displacement of Palestinians, lift the siege and collective punishment, and provide international protection to Palestinians. It also calls for ensuring the unrestricted flow of humanitarian aid to prevent famine and the worsening humanitarian disaster in Gaza, which has now lasted for 176 days.

3. The International Commission (ICSPR) calls on the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to issue additional arrest warrants against those responsible for genocide and war crimes, ending the selective application of international law. It also urges the State of Palestine to support legal action under universal jurisdiction to prosecute Israeli occupation leaders and their accomplices in national courts.

4. The International Commission (ICSPR) urges the United Nations, the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions, the signatories of the Genocide Convention, international organizations, and global human rights defenders to intensify their efforts—individually and collectively—to halt Israeli aggression and alleviate the catastrophic suffering of civilians. It calls for the enforcement of the International Court of Justice’s rulings to protect Palestinians from genocide and for supporting UNRWA and other humanitarian organizations in assisting the Palestinian people until the occupation is ended and the apartheid-colonial system is dismantled.

5. The International Commission (ICSPR) stresses that in light of this occasion and the current crisis, achieving Palestinian national unity across all areas of displacement and exile is a pressing necessity. It calls for urgent action to end internal division, reach a national consensus, prioritize the national interest, uphold civil peace, and strengthen the resilience of Palestinian citizens. This unity is crucial for confronting Israeli crimes and racial policies.

End

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR)