Hundreds of Arab Palestinians in Israel, marked on Monday the 56th anniversary of the massacre which took place in the Arab city of Kafr Qassim The massacre was carried out by Israeli Border Police officers and resulted in the death of 48 Arab civilians. Hundreds from the city and delegations from other Arab cities and villages, participated in the rally.

MK Mohammed Barakeh (Hadash), said in the rally that “unfortunately, the anniversary of the massacre is relevant more than ever before. The idea of a (population) transfer, which was the guiding principle of the massacre, has become the official discourse of the Israeli government.” “We sense the danger but do not fear the racists. We will defeat them one day,” Barakeh, also chairman of Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality – Communist Party of Israel), added.

Only 30 minutes before the new curfew time, the mayor tried to convince the Israeli officer that about 400 villagers whose work took them outside the village would not be able to receive the warning in time.

The officer told him that his soldiers would take care of that. The villagers who were home complied. Meanwhile, the officers posted themselves at the village’s gates. The first batch of villagers returned homes but unaware of the curfew. They were met by the soldiers who shot them at a close range. Others, unaware of the danger awaiting them, started to reach the village’s entrance. They were met with the same fate. News of the incident leaked out almost immediately. However, it took two months of lobbying by communist leaders and Knesset members Tawfik Toubi and Meir Vilner , and journalists, before the Labor government lifted the media blackout imposed by David Ben-Gurion.