Why the Watermelon Is a Symbol of Palestine

The watermelon is a symbol of Palestine because a slice of it shows the four colors of the Palestinian flag: red flesh, black seeds, white rind and green skin. The symbol grew out of the decades after 1967 when displaying the flag and its colors was restricted in the occupied territories, it was taken up by Palestinian artists in the 1980s and 2000s, and it spread worldwide after 2021 as an emoji and a protest image that slips past filters where a flag might not. This article explains the story behind it, who used it first, and how it is used today.

The short answer

Cut a watermelon open and you have the Palestinian flag: red, black, white and green. When the flag could not be raised, a watermelon could be carried, painted or posted instead. That is the whole idea, and it is why the fruit turns up on protest signs, in artwork, on clothing and in millions of social media posts.

A flag you can slice

The Palestinian flag is three stripes of black, white and green with a red triangle at the hoist. Those are the pan-Arab colors, shared with Jordan, Sudan and others, and we explain where they come from in our guide to the Palestinian flag's colors and meaning. A watermelon reproduces all four in one object that is ordinary, cheap and found in every market in Palestine in summer. A piece of fruit is a harder thing to ban than a flag.

The flag ban and the story of the watermelon

After the 1967 war, Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza and military orders restricted displays of Palestinian nationalism, including raising the flag or showing its colors together in public. Those restrictions stayed in place until the Oslo Accords in 1993.

The watermelon story is usually traced to 1980 and a group of artists in Ramallah. Sliman Mansour, Nabil Anani and Issam Badr had their exhibition at Gallery 79 closed by Israeli officers, who told them that political works, and works in the flag's colors, were not permitted. According to Mansour's often repeated account, when Badr asked whether he could paint a flower in those colors, an officer replied that even a watermelon would be confiscated. The remark has been retold so many times that it is now the origin story of the symbol, and the artists themselves have said it was the attitude, not the fruit, that made the point: any combination of the four colors was treated as a political act.

Khaled Hourani and the artists who made it an icon

The watermelon moved from anecdote to artwork in 2007, when the Ramallah-based artist Khaled Hourani painted "The Story of the Watermelon" for the Subjective Atlas of Palestine, a book of maps and images by Palestinian artists. Hourani's slice, drawn simply against a white ground, became the image most people now recognize. Artists including Sarah Hatahet, Sami Boukhari, Aya Mobaydeen and Beesan Arafat have used the watermelon since, in prints, murals and digital work that blend satire, symbolism and the four colors. In their hands the watermelon is not a subject but a stand-in for the flag and for the right to show it.

Palestine watermelon art shared on the Native Artists Instagram page.

Online since 2021: the emoji, the algorithms and the protests

The symbol's second life began on social media. During the Sheikh Jarrah protests in Jerusalem in 2021, users reported that posts about Palestine were being removed or buried, and the watermelon emoji 🍉 began to appear in captions and usernames as a way of signaling the topic without the words or the flag. In 2023 an Israeli campaign group put watermelon images on taxis in Tel Aviv after the national security minister moved to restrict the flag in public, and the fruit went global as a protest emblem after October that year. On Instagram, TikTok and X it now appears next to the flag emoji 🇵🇸 in a large share of posts about Palestine, and at marches from London to Jakarta it is painted on signs and faces. The watermelon has become a unifying image for people who do not share a language or a country.

Watermelon or flag: when people use which

The flag is the direct statement. The watermelon is the statement for places where the flag is restricted, where an algorithm may hide it, or where someone wants a gentler way to say the same thing. The two travel together: at protests you will see both, and online the two emojis are often used side by side. Neither replaces the other.

Wearing the symbol

Wearing watermelon clothing is itself a small act of the same kind: the four colors, worn in public, without a word said. Our Palestine watermelon collection carries the embroidered slice on T-shirts, hoodies and sweaters, on a hat and beanie, on tote bags, stickers and an iPhone case, and on wall art. The watermelon and tatreez hoodie pairs the slice with a band of Palestinian embroidery across the back.

Frequently asked questions

Why is watermelon a symbol of Palestine?

Because a slice shows the red, black, white and green of the Palestinian flag. It became a stand-in for the flag during the years after 1967 when displaying the flag was restricted, and artists and protesters have used it ever since.

When did the watermelon become a Palestinian symbol?

The story is traced to artists in Ramallah in 1980; Khaled Hourani's 2007 painting made it an icon; it spread worldwide online from 2021 and especially after October 2023.

What does the watermelon emoji mean in posts about Palestine?

Solidarity with Palestine. The 🍉 emoji is used alongside or instead of the flag emoji 🇵🇸, partly to avoid posts being filtered.

Is the Palestinian flag banned?

Displaying the flag was restricted in the occupied territories from 1967 until 1993. Today the flag is legal in most places but is sometimes restricted at specific events, institutions or in specific countries, which keeps the watermelon in use.

Who first used the watermelon as a symbol?

The account most people cite involves the artists Sliman Mansour, Nabil Anani and Issam Badr in Ramallah in 1980. Khaled Hourani's 2007 artwork for the Subjective Atlas of Palestine made it widely known.

Where can I get Palestine watermelon clothing?

Our Palestine watermelon collection has embroidered and printed T-shirts, hoodies, sweaters, hats, totes and stickers.

Related reading: the Palestinian flag's colors, meaning and history and what the keffiyeh means.