Israeli Arabs protest against Arafat siege on "Land Day"

Thousands of Israeli Arabs have demonstrated peacefully to mark "Land Day", a commemoration of a deadly protest against the confiscation of Arab land, and to speak out against the Israeli siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters.

Around 10,000 people turned out Saturday to hear speeches from Arab members of the Israeli parliament, including Azmi Bishara, the deputy who was stripped of his parliamentary immunity to face charges of inciting Arabs to violence against Israel.

Every year Israel's 1.1 million Arabs commemorate "Land Day" which marks the killing on March 30, 1976 of six Israeli Arabs by Israeli troops during protests over the confiscation of Arab lands. But this year, Israeli Arabs were jolted by the horrific images streaming out of Ramallah in the West Bank.

The crowd carried Palestinian flags and pictures of Arafat, and chanted their support for their fellow Arabs, as well as slogans against the Israeli government for its storming of Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah since Friday.

"Arafat all your people are with you," they shouted, "The wind can't move the mountain" and "Greetings from Kana to proud Ramallah, proud Gaza."

Some also chanted slogans against Israel's defence minister, shouting "Ben Eliezer, how many Palestinian children have you killed?"