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“A Palestinian woman throws a stone at Israeli soldiers, on the second straight day of clashes in the West Bank town of Hebron.”

Photographed by Hossam Abu Allan.

02 October 1998.

bravesonnets

— che guevara in palestine

in 1959, che guevara accepted an invitation to visit palestine from egyptian president gamal abdel-nasser. a committed internationalist who believed in the right of self-determination, guevara met with resistance leaders like abdullah abu sitta and qassem el fara. he also visited refugee camps in gaza where he was warmly welcomed with cheers and support. there, guevara encouraged camp leadership to organize, educate, and train armed resistance against further israeli occupation.

guevara’s visit to gaza helped make palestinian solidarity an internationalist cause. it also opened the door for relations between cuba and palestine which continued long after guevara’s murder in 1967. as dr. salman abu sitta notes in his article about guevara’s trip to gaza: “cuba gave scholarships to palestinian students, granted citizenship for stranded palestinians, and held many conferences in support of palestine [...] during the israeli war on gaza in the summer of 2014, cuba sent tons of humanitarian aid and received the injured.”

decades after his visit, guevara remains a popular symbol of resistance in palestine. revolutionaries like the PFLP’s leila khaled and ghassan kanafani (pictured above) both identified guevara as a major inspiration in their struggle for palestinian liberation. guevara’s face frequently appears in murals, homes, and protest signs. one palestinian journalist named after guevara explained that “many palestinians see him as an example of how to change things.”