YWCA of Palestine: On the Occasion of Land Day
On Occasion of Land Day
YWCA Youth Committee statement:
The past, the present and the future,
The land is ours.
Today marks the forty-ninth anniversary of Land Day, commemorating a battle that continues to be at the heart of the conflict in occupied Palestine for nearly five decades. It was in the occupied Galilee that the first conflict erupted, marking the beginning of the complete Judaization of Palestinian land and the erasure of its national identity and Arab nationality. The land has remained the symbol of the Palestinian people’s struggles since the birth of the Zionist project as an advanced tool of global imperialism, aimed at unlawfully seizing Palestine’s resources and burying its aspirations for liberation and independence. This year, it coincides—with hearts filled with sorrow— with the brutal genocide that has been ongoing for nearly seventeen months in Gaza and the West Bank.
The brutality of the occupation has intensified, devouring both land and blood, as was its persistent approach to occupying the land of Palestine, controlling all of its territory, and erasing its historical and struggle-based identity. The occupation’s control over the West Bank has doubled, affecting more than 60% of the territory. It has completely occupied Gaza, alongside its military control. The land of the holiest of the holy cities, Jerusalem—City of Peace and the most beautiful land—is being subjected to the most heinous forms of Judaization and erasure of Palestinian identity, nationality, and Arabism through every form of brutality and inhumanity. The Palestinian residents who remain in the city are under cultural and moral siege and face severe and arbitrary measures, including the destruction of their homes, intensified blockade, isolation from the rest of Palestine by the apartheid wall, the closure of death barriers, and deliberate harassment of their daily lives. A similar situation exists in the West Bank, where cities, governorates, and villages are isolated by illegal military barriers. The aim is to destroy Palestinian lives and push them into exile outside their homeland, destroying their dreams and aspirations. The occupation’s brutality affects everyone—old and young, women, children, and the elderly. Daily life has come to a near halt across all Palestinian territories, and entire sectors have been disrupted due to the occupation’s aggressive actions since October 7,especially after the Gaza truce went into effect—before being violated by the occupation. This is in addition to the ongoing random incursions into all West Bank governorates, university raids, the arrest of students, and the transformation of parts of university land into military barracks as an extension of the settlement plan in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem. We also cannot forget the forced displacement of Palestinians from the northern West Bank and Gaza.
The occupation has not only fragmented the Palestinian people through arrests, assassinations, blockades, checkpoints, and attacks on property; it has also forcibly displaced Palestinians from their homes in the northern West Bank, leaving them with nowhere to go, and no hope of return. In Gaza, Palestinians were displaced from their homes under the line of fire and brutal bombings, and the land was violently seized without any legitimate right. This is part of a systematic plan to liquidate the Palestinian refugee issue, erase the right of return to Palestinian land, clear refugee camps, assassinate Palestinians, and destroy Palestinian culture and heritage—making this the largest operation since the second intifada.
The suffering of Palestinian young women on Land Day reflectsa mixture of pain and pride. While they commemorate the theft of their land,they also fight a harsh reality that imposes restrictions upon them. They formthe first line of defense for their cause and play a key role in preserving Palestinian identity, despite the challenges they face, including arrests, house demolitions, blockades, and the harsh living conditions that lead to wide spread poverty among women. Their dreams and ambitions are crushed daily as they pass through checkpoints, enduring the most brutal forms of searches and sexual harassment by occupation soldiers. They are often detained, deprived of access to their universities, and subjected to violence, including the assassination of students before they can even reach their exam halls. They also face abuse in every form, including the killing of mothers and fetuses at death and racist checkpoints, and the denial of access to hospitals or even reproductive health centers outside their villages. This reproductive genocide has become a symbol of occupation brutality. The hands of the aggressors have not relented, and they continue to expel these women from their homes, forcing them to live in shelters for displaced persons, where the essentials of life, privacy, and dignity are completely absent, and where their dreams, existence, and right to live with dignity and humanity are erased. Yet, the Palestinian woman remains deeply rooted in the land, embracing the trees and olives, despite the occupation’s efforts to prevent her from accessing her land, the continued rampage of settlers causing destruction in her land, settling it, and preventing her from marketing her products. The checkpoints continue to restrict her movement, denying her the right to breathe freely.
Nevertheless, Palestinian young women are resolute in their right to live with dignity on their land. They confront challenges with courage, initiating many efforts that contribute to preserving Palestinian heritage and raising awareness of the Palestinian cause globally. On Land Day, Palestinian young women remind us of the importance of fighting for freedom and justice. The Palestinian cause is a global issue that requires the solidarity of all people. Their courage reflects their determination to live and their desire to preserve their land for future generations. Today, we stand at acritical juncture that threatens both the Palestinian cause and land.
We call upon all national, regional, and international forces, and all local and international organizations, to intensify their efforts to support the Palestinian people, immediately halt the war that has been raging since October 7, and hold the occupation accountable for its crimes, including genocide, starvation, land theft, the imposition of suffocating military checkpoints, and the violation of human dignity in Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and occupied Palestine. We demand the immediate cessation of all settlement activities across all Palestinian territories and the guarantee of the Palestinian right to self-determination.
The land was, and remains, at the heart of the conflict that can only be resolved through the liberation of all the land, the return of all refugees, and the establishment of an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. Defending Palestinian land is defending truth and justice, and it is a responsibility that the whole world must share.
The land is ours.