Handala
حنظلة
Naji al-Ali's barefoot refugee child, back turned to the viewer, who has watched over Palestinian political cartoons since 1969.
Handala is the signature character of the Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali: a barefoot, ragged ten-year-old boy with spiky hair, drawn from behind, his hands clasped as he bears silent witness. He first appeared in 1969 and went on to feature in thousands of cartoons published in Arab newspapers until al-Ali’s assassination in London in 1987.
Naji al-Ali explained that Handala was ten years old — the age al-Ali himself was when his family was driven from their village in 1948 — and that the boy would not grow up until he could return home. The turned back signified rejection of the world as it is; Handala, al-Ali said, would only show his face again when Palestinians regained their dignity and their land.
Handala endures as one of the most reproduced images in Palestinian culture — on walls, posters, jewelry, and protest banners. He is named after the handal, the bitter desert colocynth, a plant that survives where little else grows.
Connected in the archive
17 connected records17 records elsewhere in the archive are linked to this one, each by a piece of evidence you can read below.
named in this record — 1 record
One record names the other. A pointer for reading, not a claim that they belong to each other.
- Naji al-Aliناجي العلي
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: Handala is the signature character of the Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali: a barefoot, ragged ten-year-old boy with spiky hair, drawn from behind, his hands clasped as he bears silent witness.
names this record — 1 record
One record names the other. A pointer for reading, not a claim that they belong to each other.
- The Shooting of Naji al-Ali
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: His signature became one of the most recognizable images in Palestinian culture: Handala, a barefoot ten-year-old refugee, drawn always from behind, hands clasped at his back.
on a related subject — 15 records
Filed near each other — the same Mandate district, or the same uncommon subject tags.
- BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: Shared tag: "refugees".
- Keys of Return
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: Shared tag: "refugees".
- Leila Khaledليلى خالد
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: Shared tag: "refugees".
- Nahr el-Bared Campمخيّم نهر البارد
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: Shared tag: "refugees".
- Nakba Day
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: Shared tag: "refugees".
- Qalandiyaقلنديا
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: Shared tag: "refugees".
- and 9 more
Cite this page
Every claim above carries its sources — citation is the point.
- Chicago
“Handala.” Culture, FALASTEEN.AI. Accessed 22 August 2026. https://falasteen.ai/culture/handala.- MLA
“Handala.” Culture, FALASTEEN.AI, 2026, https://falasteen.ai/culture/handala. Accessed 22 August 2026.- BibTeX
@misc{falasteen-handala, title = {Handala}, howpublished = {\url{https://falasteen.ai/culture/handala}}, organization = {FALASTEEN.AI — A Living Archive for Palestine}, year = {2026}, note = {Accessed 2026-08-22} }