On the Anniversary of Land Day .. The Palestinian Women's Worker Association for Development: Protecting Women from Occupation Crimes is a National and International Priority

SadaNews - The Palestinian Women's Worker Association for Development emphasized that protecting Palestinian women from the crimes and violations of occupation represents a national priority and an international legal obligation, calling on the international community and the United Nations to take immediate action to ensure a comprehensive cessation of aggression, a halt to land appropriation, enable access to humanitarian assistance, and refer violations to international justice.

Today, Monday, March 30, 2026, marks the fiftieth anniversary of Land Day, which was a pivotal moment in the trajectory of the Palestinian struggle against the colonial settler project that is based on land confiscation, uprooting people, and reshaping geography to serve a replacement colonial system. The Land Day uprising in 1976, in which six Palestinians were martyred including the martyr Khadija Shawahneh, affirmed that defending the land has been and remains a liberating act led by the masses, with women at its heart, not just as witnesses, but as active participants in confronting policies of dispossession and exclusion.

The association confirmed in a statement that colonial settlement does not merely target land as a geographic space but seeks to control natural resources, lifestyles, and social structures, which particularly impacts Palestinian women, who find themselves at the intersections of colonial and gender oppression.

The expansion of settlements and forced displacement policies, especially in areas adjacent to settlements and in the Jordan Valley and Bedouin communities, have undermined women's access to natural resources, including land, water, and pastures. Moreover, women's productive projects in agriculture and livestock have been systematically destroyed, which has undermined women's economic independence and deepened their vulnerability.

In this context, the occupation authorities have imposed a system of severe closures through military checkpoints and iron gates erected at the entrances of villages, cities, and camps, which has led to isolating Palestinian communities and diminishing the marketing capacity for women's products, as well as obstructing women's access to markets and services, constituting a direct violation of their right to work and a dignified life.

Palestinian women also face various forms of direct violence, including harassment and physical assault at military checkpoints spread throughout the occupied Palestinian territories, in a flagrant violation of their physical and human dignity, and within a broader context of institutionalized violence practiced by the occupation.

The association affirmed that commemorating Land Day from a feminist anti-colonial perspective necessitates recognizing the organic relationship between land and body, between colonial control and the subjugation of women. The struggle of Palestinian women for access to land and resources, and for dignity and freedom, is an integral part of the national liberation project and social justice.

In light of the continuing acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, and the escalating policies of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the association reiterates that protecting Palestinian women is an international legal obligation that is non-negotiable and not a matter of humanitarian urgency or subject to political considerations.

The Palestinian Women's Worker Association for Development demands the international community, led by the United Nations, to take the following actions, as articulated in its statement:

1. Immediate action to ensure a comprehensive and permanent cessation of aggression, a halt to all forms of land appropriation and forced displacement, and enable humanitarian aid to flow without obstacles to protect the livelihoods of Palestinian women.

2. Open independent and transparent international investigations into all forms of violence committed against Palestinian women, including sexual violence, harassment, and violations at checkpoints, and hold perpetrators accountable through international justice mechanisms.

3. The immediate release of all Palestinian detainees, especially women and children, and ensure their protection according to international humanitarian law and international human rights standards.

4. Obligating the occupying state to stop the destruction of economic projects, especially agricultural and livestock projects led by women, and ensure women's access to natural resources without restrictions.

5. A genuine commitment to implementing Security Council Resolution 1325 and the Women, Peace, and Security agenda, ensuring the involvement of Palestinian women in all decision-making processes related to land, protection, and recovery.

6. Dismantling the system of closures and checkpoints that hinder freedom of movement, ensuring the right to move and access markets and resources, thereby enhancing the economic resilience of women.
The association pointed out that the resilience of Palestinian women in defending the land is not merely an act of survival, but a daily practice of resistance through which women recreate life in the face of a colonial project seeking to erase them, affirming that holding the international community accountable for its inaction is not a political option, but a pressing moral and legal necessity.