The watermelon is a symbolofPalestinians' public expression in protests and artworks, representing the struggle against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.[2][3][4]
The Palestinian flag, coloured in the Pan-Arab colors of red, green, white and black, had been banned in Israel in certain situations, leading to the locally-grown and similarly-coloured watermelon taking its place in Palestinian iconography as an alternative for decades.[5] Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel banned the display of the Palestinian flag and its colours in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with the Israeli army allegedly arresting anyone who displayed it.[6][7]
In 1980, the IDF shut down an art gallery in Ramallah. Accroding to the exhibit organizer the IDF explained that the rules forbade Palestinians from displaying red, green, black and white, and watermelon is an example of art that violated the Israeli army's rules.[8]
In 1993, as part of the Oslo Accords, Israel lifted the ban on the Palestinian flag.[9] At the time, The New York Times claimed "young men were once arrested for carrying sliced watermelons",[10] but Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour has cast doubt on the validity of these claims. A later editor's note to the article says "Given the ambiguity of the situation, The Times should either have omitted the anecdote or made it clear that the report was unconfirmed."[10] Mansour remembers an early conversation about it, however does not recall any actual watermelon iconography being used until 2007, when Khaled Hourani created an image for a "Subjective Atlas of Palestine" project. Other artists who have used the watermelon include Sarah Hatahet, Sami Boukhari, Aya Mobaydeen and Beesan Arafat.[11]
In 2023, the Israeli ministry of National Security banned the Palestinian flag in public places. In response, many Israelis displayed watermelon stickers with "This is not a Palestinian flag."[8]
Since the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war in 2023, the watermelon symbol has experienced a resurgence in popularity. A growing number of individuals are leveraging it, often using watermelon emojis (🍉), on various social media platforms to show support for Palestine.[12] Particularly, the symbol may be used to circumvent censorship and shadow banning on some platforms, avoiding more overt symbols such as Palestinian flags.[13]
In the Gaza Strip, where young men were once arrested for carrying sliced watermelons—thus displaying the red, black and green Palestinian colors—soldiers stand by, blasé, as processions march by waving the once-banned flag
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