Here, death and art is complementary

On the elaborately painted walls in the Gaza Strip, the themes are fire and blood. The Palestinian factions that attack Israel have, in effect, their own art departments that spread their message with explicit graffiti that seem to cover most of the flat spaces there.

Overwhelmingly, the paintings depict Palestinian bombers and gunmen shooting or blowing up all things Israeli, from soldiers in jeeps to civilians packed in buses. The Israelis are often engulfed in flames at the instant of an explosion. In many scenes, blood drips from their broken bodies. The murals usually name the faction responsible and carry an uncompromising message. 8216;8216;Holy war is the only way to liberate our land,8217;8217; and 8216;8216;We are going to teach Sharon a lesson,8217;8217; are among the more popular slogans for Hamas, the group that has carried out the largest number of suicide bombings in Israel.

Israel says the graffiti, which also exist in the West Bank, offer a clear example of Palestinian incitement that glorifies terrorism. In addition, some images praise individuals killed while attacking. Their families felt that removing them was akin to erasing the memory of their relatives. New York Times