The first of May is associated with a number of occasions that the Palestinian people have experienced and that have lingered in their collective memory.
The “Safa” Agency recalls the most significant May 1 incidents in its report:
On May 1, 1919, Britain makes the Balfour Declaration official.
It is an odd, anomalous remark that has never been made before, and Britain lacked the capacity to accord it the authority to make it. It was made by the country’s foreign minister in the form of a letter written to Lord “Rothschild” on November 2, 1917.
the May 1 Jaffa Uprising in 1921
The Palestinians’ sense of patriotism was heightened as a result of the revolt in Jerusalem, and as a result, they conducted three national conferences—the first two in Jerusalem and the third in Haifa. These conferences upheld the people’s right to create a Palestinian national government and called for the cancellation of the Mandate, rejection of the Balfour Declaration, and Jewish immigration.
May 1, 1988
Six Zionist troops were killed during an assault by the Martyr Abdullah Azzam Brigades, the West Bank branch of Hamas’ armed wing. The raid took place in the occupied “Kfar Doreen” neighborhood near Bisan.
1 May 2003
East of Gaza City’s Al-Shuja’iya neighborhood was the scene of a slaughter carried out by the Israeli Occupation Forces with the assistance of tanks and helicopters. The neighborhood had been raided on the pretense of looking for “wanted persons.” 13 Palestinians were killed by those soldiers who purposefully opened fire on civilians, including three brothers who were the leaders. Youssef, Ayman, and Mahmoud Abu Hain joined the Al-Qassam Brigades, along with three kids.
May 1, 2003
The first time the Al-Qassam Brigades employed this caliber of mortar rounds was on May 1, 2003, when they fired three 100 mm heavy mortar shells at the occupied “Eli Sinai”.
