'Day of rage' proves deadly

Every March 30, Ahmed Khalayleh wakes up early and goes to the local cemetery to visit the grave of his brother. Khader Khalayleh was one of six Israeli Arabs killed in confrontations with Israeli security forces in 1976 during mass protests against the confiscation of Arab-owned land -- protests that now are repeated annually.

"I come here every year to tell my brother that he can rest in peace because we will continue the struggle against the theft of our land," Mr. Khalayleh, 45, declared yesterday.

At the entrance to the cemetery sits a monument with inscriptions in Hebrew and English that read: "In memory of those who fell on Land Day." The Arabic inscription is somewhat more descriptive: "They died so that we can live, and their spirit lives on."

Yesterday, more than 10,000 Israeli Arabs converged on the cemetery to honour the six dead as well as two more men shot dead last October by Israeli policemen during demonstrations in support of the Palestinian intifada.

Indeed, across the Galilee yesterday, Arab Israelis marched in support of equality for Israel's 1.2 million Arabs. The protests were peaceful.

But the same was not true in the occupied territories. Six Palestinians were killed and more than 130 wounded in the deadliest day of violence in six weeks as thousands of Palestinians battled Israeli troops with stones and guns in a "day of rage."

In the deadliest clash, in the West Bank city of Nablus, five Palestinians were killed, including three whose faces were mutilated by large-calibre bullets, said Hassan al-Jouhary, a doctor at Raffidiah Hosiptal.

The sixth Palestinian, a 21-year-old, died in a clash in Ramallah.

The events capped a tumultuous week of suicide bombings, shootings and rocket attacks. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat declared that the uprising would continue, while Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said his government was preparing for a long-term confrontation.

Mr. Arafat cancelled a cabinet meeting scheduled for yesterday in the West Bank city of Ramallah, saying 12 cabinet ministers from Gaza had been prevented by Israel from reaching the West Bank.

Since 1976, March 30 has been commemorated as Land Day, a day of remembrance and protest against confiscation of land belonging to the Arab villages of Sakhnin and Arrabeh by the Israeli government.

These areas were classified by the government as "closed military zones" and were later developed for housing for Jewish Israelis. The government's declared goal was to increase the Jewish population in the Galilee.

Yesterday, 25 years later, marchers carried Palestinian and Iraqi flags and chanted anti-Israeli and anti-American slogans in Sakhnin. "With blood, with soul, we redeem the shaheed [martyr]"

Five bearded men waving flags of the extremist group Hamas called on suicide bombers to resume their attacks against Israel. "Qassam, Qassam, we want revenge," they chanted, referring to the armed wing of Hamas.

And for the first time since 1976, the Arab protesters in Sakhnin were joined by a number of left-wing Jews. They arrived in a bus wrapped with banners calling for "equality between Jews and Arabs in a real democratic state."

"We came here today to convey the message that we are against all forms of violence. The time has come to open a new chapter in relations between the state and the Arab citizens," said Ran Jacobsen of the Israeli Peace Now movement.