Watermelon as a Palestinian symbol

The watermelon (Levantine Arabic: بطيخ, romanized: baṭṭīkh) has been used as a pro-Palestinian symbol in protests and works of art, representing the struggle against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The flag of Palestine, 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.

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.

"[9] Mansour remembers an early conversation about it, but 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.