Over 1,000 Tunisians Demonstrate in Support of the Palestinian Cause

Palestinians Celebrating Land Day

Rallies in support of the Palestinian cause were held today throughout the Tunis area to mark Land Day.

March 30 - Land Day – is the day the Arab World commemorates the confrontation between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in 1976, when six Palestinians were killed after protests over the announcement of new expropriation of Arab land.

Over 1,000 people gathered in front of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) to show their support of the Palestinian cause, and to take a stand against the normalization of relations with Israel. A similar event, organized by the Supporters of Palestine Association, took place at the Human Rights square in downtown Tunis, and gathered several hundred demonstrators.

A few dozen Palestinians living in Tunisia gathered in front of the Palestinian embassy in Tunis to dance and celebrate Land Day.

Tunisia’s Harakat al-Baath, other pan-Arab socialist parties, and the POCT, Tunisia’s communist party, were present at the protest in front of the NCA. Othman Belhaj Amor, the secretary general of Harakat al-Baath, said that the demonstration is a sign of solidarity with the Palestinian people, and a way of showing support to their cause on Land Day.

“We are here to show that the Palestinian cause is a fundamental cause for Arabs. We are against the normalization of relations with Israel, and we want our demand to be part of the upcoming Tunisian constitution,” he stated.

High profile political figures like the leader of Tunisia’s communist party, Hamma Hammami, as well as a member of the Constituent Assembly from the CPR party, Abed Raouf Ayadi, participated in the protest. Slogans like “We criminalize normalization with Israel” and “Free Palestine” were chanted during the protest.

Belhaj Amor further added that this day symbolizes the courage of the Palestinian people. “Land Day shows their resistance and how brave they were through defending their lands,” he said.

Rabiaa Hasnaoui, a member of the Supporters of Palestine Association, was sporting a Hamas banner at the protest. Hasnaoui expressed her support for Palestine and the Palestinian people. “It is only through criminalizing normalization with Israel that Palestine will be free,” she stated.

Nour Eddine Arabaoui, a Tunisian who was wounded during the Tunisian revolution, also participated in the protest. “I’m here to show my support for Palestine; we are all Arabs and Muslims and their cause is ours,” he added.

When asked about the difference between celebrating Land Day now and before the revolution, a representative of the press office of the Palestinian embassy in Tunis replied, “We were surprised by the amount of demands on posters and flags, this did not happen before,” he concluded.

Hend Hassassi contributed to this article