Location: West Bank
Palestinian street art, graffiti, and murals are almost 100% political. The Palestinian and international art on the Israeli separation barrier is the most famous West Bank street art. This art, whether near Bethlehem or Ramallah, has been written about and photographed in a number of books and on the internet. Less well known are the murals in West Bank in the towns of Nablus and Ramallah. Within the towns themselves, graffiti has always been used as a political means of communication especially during the Intifadas. Recent murals portray Palestinian heritage, history, and identity.Although the writer of this piece did not get to Gaza, she can recommend an excellent resource for the wall art of Gaza: Mia Grondahl in her book, Gaza Graffiti explains the difference between what Hamas has allowed and encouraged as street art and what Fatah has allowed and encouraged. Another excellent resource is Eric Cunningham's article in The National: "Hamas and Fatah wage rivalry on Gaza's walls."
Street Art on the Separation Barrier
Most of this art is social protest. Much of it is ironic and full of black humor. All of it reflects Palestinian identity in the Occupied Territories. The separation wall was begun in 2002. Israelis built the wall in response to the Second Intifada and Israel’s need to keep violent militant Palestinians out of Green Line Israel. The results have been a considerable downturn in suicide bombings, but there have also been debilitating consequences for Palestinians; among them are separation of Palestinian families, loss of land, loss of employment opportunities, loss of markets, health care, and welfare and educational services . Palestinians have suffered and continue to suffer because of the wall. Checkpoints, such as the infamous Qalandia one between Ramallah and Jerusalem, make movement for Palestinians extremely difficult. The town of Qalqilya is almost completely surrounded by the wall. For an example of one Palestinian David and Goliath fight over the encroaching wall see Just Vision’s film Budrus (and my portrait of Just Vision).
Some say the wall was built to provide a canvas for the word’s street artists. Anyone who has a can of paint can find a section on which to express him or herself. Most of the art exists on the Palestinian side. Some sections, such as the Bethlehem walls, are world famous; others, such as the one which surrounds all of Qalqilya, are less well known. In 2005 and 2007 Banksy , the UK Street Artist , drew the world’s attention to the wall. His second visit brought a number of international, Palestinian, and Isareli artists to cover the wall with images and messages. Much of this is on line.
Any discussion of wall art in Palestine needs to include the ubiquitous Handala, the barefoot refugee boy “who will remain 10 years old until he can return to a free Palestine.” His creator, Naji al-Ali, was assassinated in 1987 in London. Naji al- Ali resisted identifying Handala with Fatah or Hamas or Jihad. He was just Palestinian.
Elsewhere on the walls of the West Bank, whether in small rural towns of Duma and Agraba or cities of Ramallah and Nablus, art is often, if not always political. Images of keys and keyholes, slogans about the right of return, Palestinian flags, portraits of Arafat and martyrs, Handalas, and upraised fists are everywhere. Wall art uses the history of the Occupation and the traditions of Palestinian arts to protest the Occupation and promote nationalism.
Murals in Nablus
A mural usually tells a story; the Nablus murals tell the story of Palestinians robbed of their land They achieve their message through iconic images from Palestine's traditions and history since 1948: keys, flags, tents, shepherds, barbed wire, Handala, embroiderers, oud players, and dabke dancers.The three Murals I saw in Nablus, two very recent ones and the other completed within the last ten years, are examples of Palestinian wall art that tells the nostalgic story of a Palestinian past filled with meaningful traditions. The one near a sign that says Sama Nablus 2009 uses traditional Palestinian arts. Women create pottery and weave textiles; men dance the dabke and play the oud. This is a mural which reflects Palestinian pride in an artistic and social identity.
The oldest of the three murals right outside the Balata Refugee camp, infamous during the Second and Third Intifadas for harboring suicide bombers but now with a youth center committed to relieving the stresses of the Occupation through the use of arts education, creates a scene of the 1948 Nabka. In the scene Palestinians brandish keys representing the right of return to their properties in Green Line Israel; refugees march toward UN Tents; barbed wire encloses space signifying the expulsion and imprisonment of Palestinians in the camps; men and women herd flocks as they flee from one place to another; and individuals gaze longingly at places from which they are separated.
The third, most recent, freshly painted mural in Martyr’s Square is a direct political expression in writing and imagery. The words of Palestine’s most celebrated poet Mahmoud Darwish are quoted. Free Palestine, the flag of Palestine and Handala appear next to people wearing traditional clothing.
Also see Hajj Art on Houses in East Jerusalem.