Murals defy the censors on Gaza

A series of murals painted in support of Palestine are set to challenge censorship of the genocide there after they were officially unveiled in west Belfast.

The completed artwork at the International Wall on the Falls Road went on show as the number of people murdered as a result of the ongoing Israeli holocaust in Gaza reached 30,000. More than two thirds of the victims and women and children.

More continue to suffer brutal and painful deaths at the hands of Israeli bombings, shootings, or by starvation as an orchestrated famine has been experienced in parts of the Gaza strip.

Over one hundred also died last week in a large-scale gun attack, mowed down as they were rushing to collect flour from a food aid delivery vehicle in a horror which has become known as the ‘Flour Massacre’.

Protests in support of Palestine have continued in Ireland and other efforts are being taken to defeat the censorship of mainstream and social media.

A human rights watchdog, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has demanded an end to the “arbitrary removal” of social media posts by Irish-based multinational companies who have become complicit in supporting the Israeli genocide.

Rap trio Kneecap were also shamefully ordered to remove Palestinian emblems by Irish state broadcaster RTE during an appearance on the high profile Late Late Show, but ignored the instruction.

Activists and politicians have been instructed by mainstream news outlets not to use the word “genocide”, despite more than 5% of the population of Gaza being killed or injured over the past six months. Even the supposedly left-wing Guardian has refused to describe to the Flour Massacre as such, instead referring to “food-aid related deaths”.

This censorship provided the backdrop for the renewal the International Wall, one of Belfast’s most popular visitor destinations which hasa long served to draw attention to international causes.

A group of artists and non-artists in West Belfast have spent weeks transforming the wall.

Led by renowned artists Danny Devenny, Micky Doc and Marty Lyons, the murals include artwork provided by Palestinian artists and interweaving the prophetic poetry of Gazan poet Refaat Alareer, killed by Israel in Gaza on Dec 7.

“The logic of it was, this isn’t what we think of Palestine, this is what the people there think of it and we’re giving them a voice,” said Dr Bill Rolston, a retired sociology lecturer.

He said there is one mural in particular that sticks out for him. He said: “There’s one really colourful mural which shows Palestinian buildings and fireworks exploding in the sky above.

“We wanted to do that one for a number of reasons, not least the woman who painted that, Heba Zagout, was killed in an air strike with two of her boys in October. I can’t help looking at that mural now without thinking they aren’t fireworks in the sky, they’re something more sinister.”

The project to complete the murals continues, with Mr Rolston saying around 25 people have been working on it, however, only three of these people are muralists.

“The rest are people who have just turned up to help,” he explained.

“For example, there’s a retired teacher who turned up who has never painted before. It’s been really wonderful in that way, a great atmosphere, lots of local people, young people, retired people, as well as some people originally from Palestine, Sudan, the US, England who are living here and have joined in too.

“We’ve had lots of conversations with passers-by and tourists and all but one have been not just positive but ecstatic in terms of seeing us doing this, of keeping Palestine in people’s minds. It’s been very worthwhile so far. If the murals remind people Gaza hasn’t gone away, they’ll do their job.”

Urgent Appeal