In pictures: Paintings in the neighborhood of Wadi Hilweh
International artists drew paintings in the neighborhood of Wadi Hilweh in Silwan with the support and partnership “Madaa Silwan Creative Center”.
Madaa Center explained that the international artists who are mostly from the United States of America and in cooperation with the locals of Silwan worked throughout last week to draw on some walls in the neighborhood of Wadi Hilweh.
The paintings touched on national issues and some of the hopes and dreams of the Palestinian youth notably the "Panel fig tree" which is famous in Silwan. Four Martyrs were drawn on the leaves of the tree, they are: Ali Dawabsheh from the village of Duma south of Nablus and Mohammad Abu Khdeir from Shu’fat who were both burned by settlers in July 2014 and 2015, respectively. The third Martyr was Samer Sarhan and the fourth was Milad Ayyash; some leaves were left empty to reflect the Palestinian reality where Martyrs fall in support of their just cause.
Another painting was for “Ein Silwan and Ein Silwan Mosque” which are targeted by Elad settlement organization to be Judaized.
Palestinian flags and “I love you Silwan” slogans covered several walls in addition to the “Right to return” and Handala. Another picture was drawn for the late Palestinian Poet Mahmoud Darwish and some of his slogans insisting to hold on to the land and preserve the Arab identity of the city were also written on the walls.
Jawad Siam, director of Madaa Silwan Creative Center, explained that the paintings were carefully picked by the locals of Wadi Hilweh and pointed out that the neighborhood of Wadi Hilweh was chosen since it is the most targeted by the settlement organizations as it is the closest to the southern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque. It is noteworthy that the occupation municipality drew some paintings on the entrance of the neighborhood in an attempt to show it as a “Jewish settlers’ neighborhood”.
Siam added that the artists drew other paintings in the West Bank cities and Gaza Strip and Silwan which suffers from demolition operations, settlement activities and arrests was also chosen. Siam hoped that similar paintings will be drawn in other neighborhoods in Silwan to ensure the Palestinian identity on one side, and educate the youth regarding the ongoing events through the drawings to enhance their identity and belonging to the city.
Siam also pointed out that the Palestinian flag as drawn on the walls of the neighborhood especially because the locals are banned from raising the flag at their homes as the Israeli forces continuously raid their houses and confiscate the flags; he mentioned that similar drawings were drawn four years ago in the neighborhood but were removed.
The group of artists expressed their happiness during their visit to Silwan and the drawings they drew in one of the most targeted areas by the Israeli authorities and settlement organizations.
