Palestinians participate in a celebration for the Prophet Muhammad's birthday in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 19, 2021. (Photo: Xinhua)

Thousands of Palestinians marked on Wednesday the 46th anniversary of Palestinian Land Day in the cities of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

Local Palestinian media outlets reported that the Palestinians commemorate the Land Day anniversary through rallies, demonstrations, general strikes, and a series of events and activities such as planting olive trees near the borders with Israel.

The events of Land Day go back to March 30, 1976, when the Palestinians in Israel protested against the Israeli seizure of about 21,000 dunams (2,100 hectares) of Palestinian villages' lands in the Galilee region in northern Israel.

The 1976 protests took place in the villages of Arraba, Sakhnin, Deir Hanna, Arab al-Sawa'id and others. The lands in these villages were confiscated for establishing more settlements.

In Gaza, masses of participants were scheduled to mark the anniversary on the border between eastern Gaza and Israel. However, the rally's organizers decided to hold it at the fishermen's harbor in the western part of Gaza city.

Thousands from all over the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave arrived at the harbor in western Gaza city, waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans supporting the legitimate Palestinian cause.

In their addresses to the participants, speakers of the Palestinian factions stressed the need for ending the internal division and restoring unity to confront Israel and end its occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Four years ago, tens of thousands of Palestinians participated in a massive rally on the border between the eastern Gaza and Israel and launched the Marches of Return and Breaking the Israeli Siege.

Xinhua