The Palestinian West Bank is surrounded by, and in some places penetrated by, a system of barriers 440 miles long. In some places it takes the form of multiple fences, in others, of a concrete wall reaching to a height of 30 feet/9 metres. (Here is WP’s map of the wall in the vicinity of Bethlehem and Jerusalem, also showing the Israeli settlements in this part of the West Bank).
In this mural, a Palestinian stands on top of the wall and looks towards (Christian) Church Of The Holy Sepulchre and the (Islamic) Dome Of The Rock in old Jerusalem and imagines themselves a phoenix, a symbol representing rebirth and persistence, well known from (Irish) republican muraling (Peter Moloney Collection | Extramural collection).
The mural is on the International Wall, west Belfast, part of the Painting For Palestine project (Fb). The original artist is unknown.
The West Bank barrier is locally known as the “separation” or “apartheid” wall. For west Belfast’s own euphemistically-called “peace” wall, see State Art Vs Graffiti On The West Belfast “Peace” Line.
The next mural (to the right) can be seen in Worsening Crisis In Gaza.
The image above was taken on February 25th. Other “in-progress” images are as dated below.
February 18th:
January 28th:
January 24th:
Click image to enlarge
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