Free Palestine: Land Day and Great Return March, March 30, 2019

Palestinian Resistance

Palestinians Mark One-Year Anniversary of Great Return March

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians gathered on lands near the Gaza perimeter fence, marking Palestinian Land Day, and the first anniversary since the beginning of the Great Return March, protesting against Israel’s brutal siege and demanding their rights. These unarmed protesters have been met with Israeli sniper fire that, so far, has killed 195 protesters, and injured 29,000 more. The UN’s Commission of Inquiry has found that Israel’s attacks on the protesters “may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity.” Read More

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• Organizers of Night Protests in Gaza Intend to Escalate Border Activities
• Palestinian Allegedly Stabs, Shoots Three Israelis, Killing One Soldier
• MADA Demands Release of Gazan Journalists
• Birzeit Students Retaliate over West Bank Killings

IDF Military Attacks, Killings, and Abductions

Land Day: Israeli Soldiers Kill Four Palestinians, Injure 316, in Gaza

Israeli soldiers killed, Saturday, four Palestinians, and injured 316 others, including 14 who suffered life-threatening wounds, during protests across the perimeter fence, in the eastern parts of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Health Ministry has reported that, among the wounded are 86 children and 29 women. Read More

Related Stories:

• On 1st anniversary of Return and Breaking Siege March, PCHR Warns of Further Targeting of Civilians by Israeli forces
• Israeli Reinforcements Deployed near Gaza, Ahead of Return March Anniversary
• Losses Exceed $2 Million for Gaza in Latest Israeli Aggression
• Soldiers Shoot A Young Man In Northern Gaza
• Israeli Air Force Fires Many Missiles Into Gaza (Mar 26)
• Israeli Airstrikes Injure 8 Palestinians, Including Two Children In Gaza (March 25)
• Israeli Forces Kill 2, Wound 181 Civilians in March of Return Protests in Gaza (March 22)
• Israeli Warplanes Attack Gaza (Mar 14)
• Palestinian Authority to Cut 50 Percent of Monthly Payroll Due to Israeli Tax Withholding
• Israeli Army Fires Many Missiles Into Gaza (Mar 9)

Hunger Striking Detainee In Poor Health Condition

The health condition of Palestinian detainee Ahmed Mousa, age 41, has badly worsened as a result of the open-ended hunger strike he started 28 days ago, in protest of his administrative detention with no trial or indictment. Read More

Related Stories:

• Army Abducts Eleven Palestinians Near Ramallah, Two In Jenin
• Israeli Soldiers Abduct Seven Palestinians In Hebron
• Update: 8 Palestinians Shot in Birzeit Protest
• In New Crime of Targeting Medical Personnel, Israeli Forces Kill Volunteer Paramedic in Al-Dheisheh Refugee Camp, South of West Bank
• Soldiers Abduct Eight Palestinians In Jerusalem
• Israeli Soldiers Abduct Seven Palestinians In Al-Jalazoun Refugee camp
• Army Abducts Eleven Palestinians Near Ramallah, Two In Jenin

Colonization and Settlers in the Occupied Territories

Israeli Court Orders Closure of Gate of Mercy; Arab Leaders Condemn Decision

In the latest escalation against the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, an Israeli court ruled on Sunday, March 17, that the Gate of Mercy (Bab al-Rahma) prayer area in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound would be closed for at least sixty days. Read More

Related Stories:

• US Student Assaulted by Israeli Soldiers at Al-Aqsa
• 150 Settlers Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque
• Israeli Police Assault Muslim Worshipers, Close Al-Aqsa Mosque
• Israeli Colonists Seal Door of Mosque in East Jerusalem
• Settlers Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque under Police Protection

Jordan Valley: Settlers Plant Olive Trees on Palestinian-owned Land

Israeli settlers planted olive trees in pasture land belonging to Palestinians in al-Farisya village, east of Tubas, in the northern Jordan Valley, raising fear among the Palestinian residents of an impending seizure of their land for the benefit of settlers. Read More

Related Stories:

• Palestinian Cars Vandalized with Racist Slogans in Bethlehem Area
• Illegal Colonists Bulldoze Palestinian Lands Near Nablus, Unleash Dogs On Shepherds Near Tubas

International Developments

Israel Depriving Palestinians of Access to Clean Water

A United Nations human rights investigator stressed that Israel is depriving millions of Palestinians of access to a regular supply of clean water while stripping their lands of minerals “in an apparent act of pillage." Read More

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• Campaign Calls on UN to Release Names of Companies Involved in Settlement Activities
• UN Votes To Adopt Gaza Human Rights Council Report
• Brazil Reneges on Moving Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

US Human Rights Report Meant to Whitewash Israeli Occupation

The US Human Right Report is intended to whitewash the Israeli occupation and excuse human rights violations against the Palestinian people, said Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). “After the release of the so-called Human Rights Report, by the US State Department, it is now abundantly clear that the Trump administration is gearing all branches of the government to whitewash the Israeli occupation and its pervasive violations of human rights.” Read More

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• U.S. State Department Threatens ICC with Visa Restrictions
• PA Slams US for Dropping “Occupation Status” of Palestine
• Trump’s “Deal of the Century” Nixes Palestinian State

Solidarity Actions and Reports

San Francisco: Gaza's Great March of Return 1-Year Anniversary

March 30, 2019, will mark the first anniversary of the Great March of Return in Gaza and the 43rd anniversary of Land Day in Palestine. Since March 30, 2018, more than 240 Palestinians have been killed, thousands wounded by live fire and thousands more by tear gas and other weapons. We are calling for a march and rally in solidarity with Gaza and the Palestinian struggle as a whole.
Event Announcement

In a loud rally and march, San Franciscans demonstrated for Palestine | San Francisco Marches in Support of Palestinian Land Day | Event Announcement

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• San Jose: Palestine Flag Raising (Apr 3)
• Banner Drop: UC Must Divest/End Study Abroad in "Israel" Now (UC Santa Cruz)
• Speaker Pelosi Shame On You, Say Skip A.I.P.A.C. Protesters

Miscellaneous Reports and Further Information

Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory — Mar 14, 2019

Israeli warplanes launch dozens of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip for five hours. Two million Palestinians have become victims of collective punishment policy amid a tide of incitement at political and military echelons in Israel. Four Palestinian civilians, including 2 women and a child, were wounded, in addition to damaging a wedding hall, an office belonging to the Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs. Moreover, several houses sustained material damage. Three Palestinian civilians were killed and 12 others were wounded in different incidents in the West Bank. Israeli forces continued to use excessive force against peaceful protestors in the Gaza Strip. Read More

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• Israeli Election 2019: Jewish Lawmaker Kills Arab Colleague in Campaign Video
• Hamas Police, Gunmen, Raid Homes in Gaza

I had the privilege of traveling to Palestine in 2010. In the course of listening to the stories of Palestinians and documenting the issues which they face in the West Bank, I met the good people of the International Middle East Media Center. I asked them what I could do to help as a reporter for the San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center (Indybay), and they said amplify their news reports in the States, which I've been doing ever since.

The International Middle East Media Center was developed in collaboration between Palestinian and International journalists to provide independent media coverage of Israel-Palestine. The IMEMC was founded by the Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement Between People in 2003.

Indybay's Palestine feature page includes news on solidarity actions in the US: