Handala

Handala
Handala, the Palestinian defiance symbol
First appearance	Al-Seyassah 13 July 1969
Last appearance	1987
Created by	Naji al-Ali
In-universe information
Full name	حنظلة
Gender	Male
Occupation	10 year old child
Affiliation	Justice, steadfastness (see sumud), poverty
Origin	Palestinian refugee
Nationality	Palestinian

Handala (Arabic: حنظلة, romanized: Ḥanẓala), also Handhala, Hanzala or Hanthala, is a prominent national symbol and personification of the Palestinian people.

The character was created in 1969 by political cartoonist Naji al-Ali, and first took its current form in 1973. Handala became the signature of Naji al-Ali's cartoons and remains an iconic symbol of Palestinian identity and defiance. The character has been described as "portraying war, resistance, and the Palestinian identity with astounding clarity".

Early publication

Handala appeared for the first time on Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Seyassah on 13 July 1969, and first turned his back to the viewer and clasped his hands behind his back from 1973 onwards.

Usage

Current usages of the Handala motif include:

• The web mascot of the Iranian Green Movement
• In Israeli artwork, particularly alongside the Israeli character Srulik
• The ship used in the July 2025 Gaza Freedom Flotilla which challenged the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza was named after it.

Gallery

• 
  A mural featuring Handala on rubble from a destroyed building in Gaza City; the text reads 'There is hope' in Palestinian Arabic
• 
  The Peace Kids mural in Florentin, Tel Aviv, with Handala and Srulik
• 
  Graffiti outside a Levantine restaurant in Barcelona; the balloon reads 'Fuck Abu Mazen' in Palestinian Arabic

See also

• Culture of Palestine
• List of national symbols of Palestine

References

Bibliography

• Singh, Ashutosh (1 October 2019). "Time and Waiting: The Fulcrum of Palestinian Identity". Arab Studies Quarterly. 41 (4). doi:10.13169/arabstudquar.41.4.0317. S2CID 214325563.
• Olin, Margaret (2019). "How Long Will Handala Wait? A Ten-Year-Old Barefoot Refugee Child on Palestinian Walls". Timescapes of Waiting. pp. 176–197. doi:10.1163/9789004407121_012. ISBN 978-90-04-40712-1. S2CID 203233320.
• Habashi, Janette (2017). "The Evolvement of National Identity: A Never-Ending Process". Political Socialization of Youth. pp. 151–175. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-47523-7_8. ISBN 978-1-137-47522-0.
• Gandolfo, K. Luisa (1 January 2010). "Representations of Conflict". Radical History Review. 2010 (106): 47–69. doi:10.1215/01636545-2009-020.
• Woźniak, Marta (2014). "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Polititcal Cartoons of the Arab Spring". Hemispheres. Studies on Cultures and Societies. 29 (2): 79–97.