Leaders of the Rakah Communist party increased their agitation over the weekend for a strike by Israeli Arabs planned for Tuesday to protest the expropriation of Arab land in the Galilee. The Israeli government, employers and the Histadrut have, meanwhile, issued warnings against participation in the demonstration.
The center of the agitation is in Nazareth which is governed by a Rakah Mayor. Nazareth youths have warned merchants to close their stores on Tuesday or suffer the consequences.
The Communists and other extremists have been holding mass rallies over the weekend urging Arabs to join the strike. They have labelled as traitors the mayors and heads of local councils of 35 Galilee towns who voted last week against supporting the strike. Police have been strengthened especially in the Nazareth area. There was also a demonstration by some 300 Bedouins in the Negev where some land is also scheduled for expropriation. The expropriation project in the Galilee which is for housing development calls for buying land both from Jews and Arabs.
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