New Land Day Incidents Come to Light, but All Agree Day Was Mostly Peaceful

Israeli Jews and Arabs expressed satisfaction Thursday with the generally peaceful manner in which Israeli Arabs observed Land Day Wednesday, the 12th anniversary of Arab protests over the confiscation of lands in Galilee by the Israel Defense Force.

But all was not as calm as depicted in official reports Wednesday. A total of 72 incidents were reported by the police, including the throwing of three Molotov cocktails, the stoning of vehicles, the painting of hostile slogans on walls and the raising of the Palestinian flag, which is forbidden by Israeli law. So far 20 persons have been detained.

An attempt was made Wednesday night to set fire to the local police station in Kafr Yasif, in western Galilee. A Palestinian flag was raised Thursday morning in Zalafa village, east of Netanya. It was removed by police.

Police Minister Haim Barlev, speaking Thursday on Voice of Israel Radio, said any illegal actions on Land Day would be punished to the full extent of the law. He stressed, however, that there were no major violations on the occasion.

Shmuel Toledano, a former adviser on Arab affairs to Israeli prime ministers, said in a radio interview Thursday that the absence of serious breaches of order on Land Day proved again that Israeli Arabs differ from the Arabs of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

“They are citizens of the State of Israel. They too want a Palestinian state, but their behavior is different. . . Although they are part of the Arab world, they still behave like Israelis,” Toledano said.

He said the lesson of Land Day is that the line dividing Israel’s 700,000 Arab citizens and the 1.5 million Arabs in the administered territories may be invisible, but nevertheless exists.

For Israeli Arabs, the priority is their demand for equal rights as citizens of the state, Toledano said.