Red triangle (Palestinian symbol): Difference between revisions

Symbol used by pro-Palestine protestors and Hamas

During the Gaza war (2023–present), an inverted red triangle has been used as a symbol by Hamas and by pro-Palestinian protesters. Protestors’ usage of the symbol originates from combat footage published by Hamas during the war that uses inverted red triangles as arrows to indicate Israeli military targets, such as tanks, shortly before they are attacked or destroyed.^[1][2][3] This in turn derives from the red triangle that appears on the Palestinian flag.^[4]

Historical origins

The red triangle has been connected to the flag of Palestine, which features a similar symbol.^[5][6][7] The red triangle that appears in the flag represents the Hashemite dynasty‘s role in the Arab Revolt and the blood of those killed in the struggle for Arab and Palestinian liberation. Red is one of the four pan-Arab colors, along with black, white, and green.^[5] Some media speculated that the symbol originates from Nazi concentration camp badges.^[7][8] However, the Nazis used the inverted red triangle to identify prisoners with political views opposed to Nazism, not necessarily Jewish prisoners.^[4]

Use since 2023

Protestors’ usage of the symbol originates from combat footage published by Al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of Hamas) during the Gaza war that uses inverted red triangles as arrows to indicate Israeli military targets, such as tanks, shortly before they are attacked or destroyed.^[1][3][9] In these videos, the destruction of military targets denoted by the red triangle is often followed by chants like “God is great” and “Palestine will be free“.^[10] In the early months of the Gaza war, some social media users connected the shape with other symbols of Palestinian resistance, such as a headscarf or slingshot.^[6] Ramzy Baroud of the Middle East Monitor wrote that its connotation as a symbol of resistance (including its resemblance to the triangle on the Palestinian flag) may have been intentional when it was first created or that the design may have simply been a functional choice by “a young Palestinian tech-savvy fighter”.^[10]

Since its establishment as a symbol of Palestinian resistance, depictions of the red triangle have appeared at protests against the Gaza war and been incorporated in pro-Palestine graffiti in countries around the world, including Australia,^[11][12] Bahrain,^[10] Canada,^[4] Germany,^[7] Lebanon,^[1] and the United States.^[4] In December 2026, it was displayed on a banner in Palestine Square, Tehran, alongside an image of former Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida, with the words “Juden-Nazis spill blood, the fire grows, and the phoenix returns” in Hebrew and Persian.^[13] The Cyber Isnaad Front, an anti-Israel hacker group identified as possibly Iranian-backed by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, uses a modified version of the triangle when posting about its alleged victims.^[14]

The symbol has sometimes been used to target private individuals or establishments. In the summer of 2024, it was spray-painted on the residences of board members of the Brooklyn Museum, as well as that of its director Anne Pasternak; and that of Columbia University‘s chief operating officer, Cas Holloway. The vandalism at the residences of Pasternak and Holloway specifically targeted them for allegedly being a “white supremacist Zionist” and contributing to the suppression of protests at Columbia University, respectively. Pasternak is Jewish, and several New York political figures described the incidents as antisemitic.^{[15] [16][17][18]} Also that summer, the triangle was spray-painted on the Pittsburgh synagogue Chabad of Squirrel Hill, near the Tree of Life – Or L’Simcha Congregation where a white supremacist attack took place in 2018.^[19] In October of that year, on Yom Kippur, a Jewish-owned bakery in Surry Hills, Sydney, was vandalized with a red triangle and the spray-painted word “Beware”.^[11]

Bans

The red triangle emoji (🔻) has been widely used by Palestinian supporters on social media.^[20] In October 2024, it was reported that Meta had decided to begin removing posts that used the symbol in the context of the Israel–Palestine conflict.^[20]

In July 2024, the Senate of Berlin voted to ban the symbol following an urgent motion filed by the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party.^[21] Niklas Schrader, a member of Die Linke, cautioned that banning the symbol could unintentionally lead to the outlawing of other organizations. The Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime displays the triangle on their flag accompanied by prisoner stripes, a design that has also been seen at pro-Israel demonstrations.^[7]

Symbolism

The Palestine Chronicle has described the red triangle as a symbol of resistance and the need for action on a global scale.^[22] The website of the Anti-Defamation League states that the symbol is often associated with antisemitism, but not necessarily so.^[23] Or Shaked of the Jewish Virtual Library has taken a critical perspective of the symbol, writing that it glorifies violence.^[24]

See also

References