Who is Handala, what does he mean to Palestinians; Who is the illustrator of Handala and how did he die?

Ali, one of the important cartoonists of the Arab world, created cartoons criticizing the Israeli occupation and Arab regimes.

The "Hanzala" character, signed by Ali, who quickly attracted attention with his cartoons emphasizing the Palestinian cause and was greatly appreciated for his drawings, became one of the symbols of Palestine's struggle for freedom.

He was exiled from his country with his family during the Nakba

Ali, who was born into a farming family in the village of Ash-Shajarah in Palestine in 1936, is one of approximately 1 million Palestinians who were expelled from their homes during the period called "Nakba" (Great Catastrophe) by Palestinians when Israel was founded in 1948.

Ali, who was forcibly removed from Palestine when he was only 12 years old, stayed with his family in the Ayn al-Hulwa refugee camp in the south of Lebanon, where harsh living conditions and poverty prevailed.

This experience haunted him, just like it did thousands of Palestinians.

Handala, also Handhala, Hanzala or Hanthala, is a prominent national symbol and personification of the Palestinian people. The character was created in 1969 by political cartoonist Naji al-Ali, and first took its current form in 1973. Handala became the signature of Naji al-Ali's cartoons and remains an iconic symbol of Palestinian identity and defiance. The character has been described as "portraying war, resistance, and the Palestinian identity with astounding clarity".

Ali, who became interested in politics during the process, did not hesitate to express his criticisms in his works and was arrested many times for this reason.

He started cartooning in his prison cell

Ali, who started his cartooning journey in a prison cell, filled the prison walls with drawings when he was arrested by Israeli forces, and took the same stance when the Lebanese army arrested him.

Ali, who moved to this country after his father received a job offer from the "Et-Talia" magazine in Kuwait in 1963, began to draw increasingly political works about the developments in Palestine and the Middle East.

Naji Salim Hussain Al-Ali (born c. 1938 – 29 August 1987) was a Palestinian cartoonist, noted for the political criticism of the Arab regimes and Israel in his works. Al-Ali is best known as the creator of the character Handala, a personification of the Palestinian people that has become prominent symbol of Palestinian nationalism and resistance.

Ali, who continued his professional life between Lebanon, Kuwait, and London, would sometimes satirize an Arab leader, sometimes deal with a bitter truth in a tragicomic way, or criticize an Israeli policy that caused him to lose his home and country.

The character "Hanzala", which Ali introduced to his readers in 1969, is a Palestinian child who witnessed the events in the drawings. His feet are bare, his clothes are patched and his back is always turned. He is ten years old, he will neither grow up nor turn his face to us until Palestine is free and returns to his homeland.

Ali's son tells about Hanzala:

"Hanzala is a child who never grew up. He left Palestine when he was a child. Time stopped for him when he was deported from Palestine. My father used to say that Hanzala would only grow up when he returned home to Palestine. Hanzala is a poor child. He is not very good-looking", his feet are bare, there are patches on his clothes, and his hair is messy. In other words, he is not the child you dream of having. In a way, Hanzala represents my father's conscience. He is a child who never lies, who says what he thinks regardless of the consequences, and who tries to be on the right side. So Hanzala is my father, Naci el "It was like a compass for Ali, a compass that always pointed him towards Palestine. Compasses normally point north, but Hanzala's compass always points towards Palestine."

Halid stated that his drawings conveyed his father's views and said:

"My father devoted his life to Palestine. He was loyal to his cause and believed that he had the right to return home. But he also cared about more than Palestine and the injustice that befell the Palestinian people. He sympathized with the poor people of the world. He was very against injustice. He always fought against the divide between rich and poor. "He opposed the aggression of the United States and Israel, but he did not only criticize them. He was critical of his own side, as well as the policies of the Palestinian and Arab sides. He was not afraid of this. He criticized not only the other side but also his own side."

Regarding Naci al-Ali's view of Palestine, Khalid said the following:

"My father's cause was Palestine. My father never believed in the so-called peace process, which was thought to yield any positive results for the Palestinian people. He said long ago that this would not bring us any results. It was very clear in all his drawings. And this was actually a huge problem for him. On the other hand, This was why people loved him and his work. In one of his drawings he wrote of Palestine, 'What is lost through force can only be taken back through force.' "He said. My father was very clear about this."

The perpetrators of the assassination have still not been found

Naci al-Ali, who lived in London, was assassinated on July 22, 1987, on his way to the office of the newspaper he worked for.

The master illustrator, who was seriously injured and went into a vegetative state, died in the hospital where he was treated on August 29, 1987, while the perpetrators of the attack have still not been found.

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Handala.. How did Naji Al-Ali draw himself?
https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2021-07-22-handala---how-did-naji-al-ali-draw-himself-.rJZ8ogT8AO.html