A joint Jewish-Arab demonstration marking 59 years of occupation of the Palestinian territories was held yesterday evening (Saturday, June 6) in Haifa, initiated by The Peace Partnership. Hundreds of demonstrators marched along Jaffa Street toward the intersection of Allenby and Haparsim streets, where a rally was held.
The speakers included the Chairman of the High Follow-up Committee, Dr. Jamal Zahalka; the head of the Hadash list, Dr. Yousef Jabareen; journalist Israel Frey; Fadwa Khader, a political bureau member of the Palestinian People’s Party; and war refuser Eyna Gerstman. During the demonstration, police arrested a 49-year-old activist from Shefa-Amr for raising a banner featuring the Palestinian flag. Among the participants: the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Israel, Adel Amer; the former Chairman of the High Follow-up Committee, Muhammad Barakeh and Hadash MK Ofer Cassif.
“Stop settlers’ terror” (in Hebrew and Arabic). The joint Jewish-Arab demonstration marking 59 years of occupation of the Palestinian territories was held yesterday in Haifa, Saturday, June 6, 2026 (Photo: Sharon Leibel/Flash90)
The Peace Partnership stated that “the protest is an outcry and a clear statement against the occupation and its crimes, especially over the past year. The occupation must be uprooted along with all its cruel crimes—mass killing, displacement and deportation, and torture and false arrests—crimes that the Netanyahu-Ben Gvir government has brought to unprecedented proportions.” According to the coalition, “the criminal war led by the Netanyahu government in recent years across all fronts is a continuation of a colonialist mentality of occupation and settlement, a mentality that dominates this government as well as its predecessors.”
In this address, Jabareen harshly criticized the right-wing government, stating that the “subjugation and transfer plan” has become the official work plan of the Netanyahu-Smotrich-Ben Gvir administration. He further asserted that 59 years of occupation represent a deliberate, long-term policy of military control over the Palestinian people, characterized by land theft, displacement and settlement expansion.
Jabareen also criticized the current Israeli government’s policies regarding the war of annihilation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, citing advocates for annexation and displacement. He called for ending the occupation, establishing an independent Palestinian state, and creating a unified Arab-Jewish democratic camp as the alternative for the coming elections.
