a year ago
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Posted On: October 6th 2025, 09:51 am
In memory of Fathi Ghaben..
yesterday I watched an interview of the artist Sliman Mansour (2006) and learned about his friend Fathi Ghaben who was also a Palestinian artist and educator, known for his paintings that depicted Palestinian culture, resistance, and the right of return.
Ghaben’s art often captured everyday life of working-class people under occupation.
He was one of the first artists to paint the Palestinian flag — resisting the suppression of Palestinian identity. This led to his arrest by Israeli occupation forces in 1984 and the confiscation of seven of his works. The expression of Palestinian identity through art was and still is considered a threat to the Zionist identity.
Fathi Ghaben was born in the village of Hirbiya in the Gaza Strip 1947, one year before the declaration of the establishment of the Israeli state. The following year 1948 during the Nakba, his village was subdistrict, occupied and depopulated by Zionists forces to establish settlements. Like the 750,000 Palestinians forced from their homes Ghaben also had to flee with his family into Jabaliya camp in Gaza.
He lost his son and grandson in this genocide. On February 25, 2024 he was killed by the occupation because they denied him permission to leave Gaza for medical treatment he urgently required.
Interview (2008) with Fathi Ghaben:
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/fathi-ghaben-great-palestinian-painter/#
Art and resistance in Palestine remind me of my friend Bilal (@art.bilal_raamadan) and many other artists who refuse to stop expressing themselves, who continue building and rebuilding everything that the occupation tries to destroy while living under constant threat, bombardment and occupation. May peace be upon them. Long live Palestinian resistance! 🎨
yesterday I watched an interview of the artist Sliman Mansour (2006) and learned about his friend Fathi Ghaben who was also a Palestinian artist and educator, known for his paintings that depicted Palestinian culture, resistance, and the right of return.
Ghaben’s art often captured everyday life of working-class people under occupation.
He was one of the first artists to paint the Palestinian flag — resisting the suppression of Palestinian identity. This led to his arrest by Israeli occupation forces in 1984 and the confiscation of seven of his works. The expression of Palestinian identity through art was and still is considered a threat to the Zionist identity.
Fathi Ghaben was born in the village of Hirbiya in the Gaza Strip 1947, one year before the declaration of the establishment of the Israeli state. The following year 1948 during the Nakba, his village was subdistrict, occupied and depopulated by Zionists forces to establish settlements. Like the 750,000 Palestinians forced from their homes Ghaben also had to flee with his family into Jabaliya camp in Gaza.
He lost his son and grandson in this genocide. On February 25, 2024 he was killed by the occupation because they denied him permission to leave Gaza for medical treatment he urgently required.
Interview (2008) with Fathi Ghaben:
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/fathi-ghaben-great-palestinian-painter/#
Art and resistance in Palestine remind me of my friend Bilal (@art.bilal_raamadan) and many other artists who refuse to stop expressing themselves, who continue building and rebuilding everything that the occupation tries to destroy while living under constant threat, bombardment and occupation. May peace be upon them. Long live Palestinian resistance! 🎨
Comments (4)
a year agoart.bilal_raamadan
The artist Fathi Ghabn is one of the most important and prominent artists in Gaza and Palestine. May he rest in peace. He was a major symbol in the history of Palestinian art. He spent his last days at Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza. He was an iconic and unique figure in art, and we were all his students. May he rest in peace 🙏🏻💔
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