a memorial for all wars: the Polynational War Memorial
 

MEMORIALS

Memorial to four killed militants in Betlehem in 2008

Type: Physical memorial
Location: Betlehem
Country: Palestinian Authority

Added: 11/7/2009 12:38:34 PM
Updated: 11/7/2009 12:39:53 PM

Memorial to four killed militants in Betlehem in 2008
License: © | By: Jon Brunberg | | enlarge
Memorial to four killed militants in Betlehem in 2008
License: © | By: Jon Brunberg | | enlarge
Memorial to four killed militants in Betlehem in 2008
License: © | By: Jon Brunberg | | enlarge
Memorial to four killed militants in Betlehem in 2008
License: © | By: Jon Brunberg | | enlarge
Memorial to four killed militants in Betlehem in 2008
License: © | By: Jon Brunberg | | enlarge

On March 12, 2008, four Palestinian militants were killed in their car in a spectacular raid by Israeli agents in Betlehem. Among the killed were Muhammad Shahada, 48, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad, and Ahmed al-Balbul, also 48, a leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The news of the killing received quite a lot of attention and the event threatened at the time to stall the fragile peace process.

The photos on this page shows a memorial that was erected shortly thereafter close to the spot of the killing. A metre-high, white, headstone with inscriptions, has been erected on the pavement of this streetcorner, close to the centre of Betlehem. It is complemented with a large, mounted, print displaying the portraits of the martyred alongside that of Yassir Arafat. The PLO/Fatah leader, who died in 2001 is often represented in the memorials that you can find troughout the west bank, sometimes together with other important leaders. The image of the martyred seems overall to be an important feature of Palestinian war memorials troughout the west bank. In this memorial you can also find portraits of the four killed men, painted on small stones shaped as the land of a unified Palestine.

About this event:
BBC
NY Times
Haaretz

 

POSTED BY JON BRUNBERG ON 11/7/2009 12:38:34 PM

blog comments powered by Disqus