The police department, particularly in the north of the country, are on high alert to prevent stonings, rioting and other disturbances on what has become known as Yom al-Ard, or "Land Day," among Israeli-Arabs. This year, Land 
Police are particularly concerned that this year's Land Day events may turn violent.
Day falls on Sunday.
Land Day marks the anniversary of demonstrations, road-blockings, stonings, firebombings and rioting by Israeli-Arabs throughout the country in March of 1976, during which six people were killed by security forces. The spark for the initial confrontation in 1976 was incitement by Arab-Israeli political leaders over the implementation of an Israeli law granting the state eminent domain over lands abandoned by their Arab residents.
Police are particularly concerned that this year's Land Day events may turn violent in light of a series of recent rock and bomb attacks on passing vehicles by Arabs in the north and in mixed Jewish-Arab cities such as Ramle and Lod. Permits have been issued for peaceful Land Day marches in Kalansua, Arabeh, Tel Sheva and Jaffa, but police suspect that militant youths will attempt to incite the crowds to violence.
In an unusual step, the march and rally in the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Jaffa, adjacent to Tel Aviv, is to be the central Land Day event. This represents a departure from previous years, when the main Land Day events were held in the Galilee region.
According to Middle East researcher Dr. Nissim Dana of the Academic College of Judea and Samaria in Ariel, the move to Jaffa this year is an intentional and clever move by the Israeli-Arab leadership. The objective, Dr. Dana explained to Arutz-7 Hebrew Radio on Thursday, is to bring Land Day to the majority Jewish population. "The demonstrations expected in Jaffa and Haifa are intended to bring the message to the general population," Dana said, "so as not to hide in some valley in the Galilee or in the Negev."
Dr. Dana sees the claims of housing shortages, confiscations and demolitions raised annually by Arab leaders in Israel around Land Day as cover for Arab irredentism."The objective on Land Day is not actually to solve the problems, rather it is an excuse to address issues that are what I would call 'nationalistic,' far beyond the problem of any single individual. There is a basic problem here of an unwillingness to accept what happened in 1948, which we call 'the War of Independence' and what the Arabs call 'Nakba' ['Disaster'] - that is essentially the main issue."
Land Day has come to be marked by the Palestinian Authority, as well as in various Arab communities outside Israel. Local events in recent years have drawn participants from the Israeli Arab political parties, the Arab-Israeli Christian community, the nationwide Islamic Movement and even far-left Jewish organizations.