Palestinians on Wednesday marked the 40th anniversary of Land Day, commemorating Palestinian protests against Israeli land seizures that were violently suppressed on March 30, 1976.

Palestinians on Wednesday marked the 40th anniversary of Land Day, commemorating Palestinian protests against Israeli land seizures that were violently suppressed on March 30, 1976.

In recent years, Palestinians across both the occupied Palestinian territory have marched to mark the occasion, while large numbers of Israeli occupation troops have been deployed to suppress the protests, frequently opening fire on the crowds.

Shops were closed across Palestinian-majority towns in Israel and local municipal offices closed as residents prepared to commemorate Land Day, Palestinian Maan news agency reported.

Palestinian committees urged citizens to join rallies and other activities being organized to mark the occasion, including a major rally in the village of Um al-Heiran in the Negev and another in the village of Arraba al-Batouf in the Galilee.

This year's marches follows a new wave of massive land grabs in the occupied Palestinian territory that rights groups say marks a return to an Israeli government policy not seen since the pre-Oslo period in the 1980s.

Earlier this month, Israeli declared 2,342 dunams (580 acres) of land to the south of Jericho "state land" to pave the way for the construction of 358 housing units in the illegal settlement of Almog.

The land confiscation south of Jericho followed that of around 5,000 dunams (1,240 acres) of Palestinian land in Bethlehem district in 2014.