Israeli police and troops were on high alert on Friday ahead of a raft of Land Day protests across Israel and the Palestinian territories, as supporters in Lebanon and Jordan readied to march to the borders.
Land Day is held every year on March 30 to mark the deaths of six Arab Israeli protesters at the hands of Israeli police and troops during mass demonstrations in 1976 against plans to confiscate Arab land in Galilee.
This year, there have been numerous calls for peaceful demonstrations in Israel, the occupied territories and in neighbouring countries, where supporters have been urged to march towards the borders.
The main Land Day march will take place in the Galilee town of Deir Hanna, with another march in Israel’s southern Negev desert, both of which were to start in the mid-afternoon.
In the West Bank, demonstrations are to take place after the Friday prayers at Qalandia checkpoint near Ramallah, by the main Bethlehem checkpoint and in many villages in the northern West Bank which normally host weekly popular protests.
Another rally was to take place outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, while in Gaza, all the main factions were to attend a march from the northern town of Jabaliya to Beit Lahiya.
Supporters in Lebanon and Jordan and possibly Syria are also planning to march towards the borders as part of a so-called “global march on Jerusalem.”
In anticipation of mass protests, the Israeli army imposed a 24-hour closure on the territories late on Thursday, barring Palestinians from entering Israel excepted for humanitarian reasons or medical emergencies.
Israeli police chief Yohanan Danino has raised the nationwide level of alert and urged local Arab leaders to “prevent extremists from causing provocations.”
Police also imposed an age limit on worshippers attending Friday prayers at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, barring all men except locals over the age of 45. There was no restriction on women.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said thousands of police were deployed across the country, with an emphasis on Arab areas in the north and on Jerusalem.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services issued a statement saying it was putting all of its ambulances on a heightened state of alert.
Israel is hoping to avoid the bloody confrontations that took place last May when thousands gathered along Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Syria on Nakba Day to protest on the anniversary of Israel’s creation in 1948.
Troops opened fire on protesters trying to breach the line from Syria and Lebanon, killing 11 and injuring hundreds, UN figures showed. More than 120 people were also injured by gunfire in similar protests in northern Gaza.
A month later, at least 10 people were killed and hundreds injured in the Golan when Syrian protesters tried to cross onto the Israeli side on Naksa Day, which marks the anniversary of the 1967 Six Day-War.
On Friday, police and soldiers in the Golan were deployed next to the Kuneitra crossing and in the Majdal Shams area, while along the Lebanese border, forces fanned out around the Metulla crossing where thousands are expected to rally, press reports said.
Troops were also deployed in the Jordan Valley near the Allenby Crossing where Jordanian protesters were expected to stage a protest, the reports said.
The Israeli military issued a terse statement saying it was “preparing for any eventuality and will do whatever is necessary to protect Israel’s borders and its residents.”