Palestinian citizens of Israel tore down Israeli symbols and put up the Palestinian flag in the mixed Arab-Jewish city, which is located within the internationally recognised borders of Israel.
Although Palestinians in Israel have regularly supported Palestinians in the occupied territories before, the scale and nature of the demonstrations in Lod, known as Lydd in Arabic, indicates how the relationship between the two groups is stronger than ever.
But this relationship has often been fraught. Many so-called ’48 Palestinians – those who live within the borders of the state founded in 1948 – have a genuine grievance about their history, insisting that they did not join Israel, but that Israel joined them by taking over their homes. Sometimes they use the word “occupation” to describe their status within the 1948 borders of Israel.
The rest of the world – as well as many Israelis – still misunderstand the lives and motivations of a group that makes up an estimated 20 percent of the Israeli population.
While the term “Arab-Israeli” is sometimes used to describe Palestinian citizens of Israel, many call themselves “48 Palestinians”, in reference to the year of Israel’s creation.
In 1948, the state of Israel was declared. For Israelis, this came after what they regard as their war of independence – but f0r Palestinians it was the start of the Nakba, or “catastrophe”.
More than 750,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled from their homes during the fighting. Zionist militias established control over historic Palestine following the withdrawal of the British Mandate and military forces.
By the end of the war, the State of Israel had been proclaimed. Jordan controlled the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Egypt controlled Gaza.
But many Palestinian Arabs remained in their homes and within the boundaries – known as the “48 borders” – of what is now called Israel. They were granted citizenship – but they did not live as equal citizens.
Between 1949 and 1966, those Palestinian Arabs were governed by military rule and subjected to travel permits, curfews and detention. They were also expelled from their homes and land, which were often given to Jewish settlers or state-backed bodies.
Since 1966 and the end of military rule, there has been a growth in public expressions of political consciousness from Palestinian citizens of Israel.
But still, Palestinian citizens of Israel have often found themselves in a difficult bind.
At one point some Palestinian citizens of Israel tried to disguise their identities by adopting Jewish names and speaking only in Hebrew among themselves, only to find themselves looked down upon by the Palestinian disapora and those in refugee camps.
But for a long time other Arab governments also viewed them with suspicion for accepting Israeli citizenship and taking part in the country’s institutions.
In Israel, they are often viewed as traitors. Their organisations and parties are regularly banned and their leaders are prosecuted.