During theGaza war (2023–present), an inverted red triangle has been used as a symbol byHamas and bypro-Palestinian protesters.
Protestors' usage of the symbol originates from combat footage published byHamas during the war that uses inverted red triangles as arrows to indicate Israeli military targets, such astanks, shortly before they are attacked or destroyed.[1][2][3] This in turn derives from the red triangle that appears on thePalestinian flag.[4]
The red triangle appears in the 1917flag of the Arab Revolt,[5] with the color red symbolizingArab independence and unity.[5] The red triangle also appears in the derivative Palestinian flag, which was used during the1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. In a 1938 photograph, Palestinian rebels are seeing waving a black, white and green flag with a red triangle, with across and acrescent inside the triangle.[6]
Some media speculated that the symbol originates fromNazi concentration camp badges.[7][8] However, the Nazis used theinverted red triangle to identify prisoners withpolitical viewsopposed to Nazism, not necessarily Jewish prisoners.[4]
Hamas' military wing, theAl-Qassam Brigades, began using a red triangle to mark Israeli targets in propaganda videos since November 2023, at the onset of theGaza war.[4]
Since then, the red triangle has appeared in signs and graffiti made by Palestinian supporters in Germany,[7] Canada,[4] the United States,[4] Australia[9] and elsewhere. It has sometimes been painted on private homes or businesses targeted by protesters, such as the apartment building ofColumbia University's Chief Operating Officer,[10] or a popular Jewish-owned bakery inSydney.[9]
The red triangleemoji (🔻) has been widely used by Palestinian supporters on social media.[11] In October 2024, it was reported thatMeta had decided to begin removing posts that used the symbol in the context of theIsrael–Palestine conflict.[11]
In July 2024, theSenate of Berlin voted to ban the symbol following an urgentmotion filed by theChristian Democratic Union and theSocial Democratic Party.[12] Niklas Schrader, a member ofDie Linke, cautioned that banning the symbol could unintentionally lead to the outlawing of other organizations. TheAssociation 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]