Arabs in Israel Mark 26th Anniversary of Jerusalem Uprising

Arab citizens in Israel are commemorating the 26th anniversary of the "Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Uprising" on Saturday, October 3, 2026. The Higher Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens in Israel called for broad participation in a march and visits to martyrs' memorials.

The main event, a march, is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. in the city of Arraba, starting from the Old Mosque on Daher Al-Omar Street and concluding at the school square near the martyrs' monument. The committee emphasized that widespread public participation would demonstrate commitment to resisting what it described as a "comprehensive onslaught" by authorities against Arab communities in the Negev, Galilee, Triangle, and coastal cities.

This alleged onslaught includes home demolitions, land confiscation, settlement expansion, suppression of political expression, and the exacerbation of crime and violence within the Arab community. The committee also condemned decisions by the Central Elections Committee and the Israeli Supreme Court to disqualify Sami Abu Shehadeh, head of the National Democratic Assembly party, from running for office.

In its statement, the committee called for strengthening national unity to defend the right to political action and to counter what it termed a "fascist racist onslaught" targeting all aspects of Arab life, including medical teams, bus drivers, university students, leaders, and political parties. The statement also paid tribute to the "martyrs" of the uprising, vowing to uphold their memory and the cause for which they died: Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa, and Palestine, which the statement described as facing its most difficult period with "genocidal war, comprehensive destruction, displacement, uprooting, settlement encroachment, brutal repression, and the strangulation of daily life."

Visits to martyrs' graves and monuments are scheduled throughout the day in various locations, including Jatt, Umm al-Fahm, Mu'awiya, Nazareth, Kafr Kanna, Kafr Mandi, and Sakhnin, before the main march in Arraba.