WHAT IF PALESTINE HAD ITS OWN CURRENCY?

Designer Jehad Naji, 29... had the idea of designing a currency for Palestine after a British journalist asked him about which currency to use during a visit to Gaza. Naji had to explain to him that there was none and that Palestinians have to use the Israeli shekel.

"People living outside Palestine have no clue that being occupied means that you do not get to decide even on your own currency," Naji says. Here, his design for the front of the five-pound note shows the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem (all note designs copyright Jehad Naji).

Naji says the hardest part was choosing which Palestinian figures and landmarks to use. The back of the five-pound note features Abdul Qader al-Hussaini, the commander and key founder of the Army of the Holy Jihad (Jaysh al-Jihad al-Muqaddas) in the 1947-48 war. "Although at first I decided to reflect only the Palestinian culture in the currency, [but] I could not ignore Abdul Qader al-Hussaini," he says. "No one can deny the role of the Islamic trend in Palestine."

Palestinians used the Palestinian pound during the British Mandate of Palestine (1927-1948), after which no further notes were issued. In Gaza, the Egyptian pound was used from 1951, while in the West Bank the Jordanian dinar was used from 1952. The shekel has been used in both territories since the 1967 occupation. The front of the ten-pound note, above, shows the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.

Naji's wife, Haneen Abu Samhadana, supported him during the 13-month project, advising and helping choose colours. "The greatest shock was after we posted the photos, when we discovered that people abroad did not even know we use Israeli shekels and not our own currency," she says. The Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish is shown on the reverse of the ten-pound note, next to the Roman site of Caesarea in Haifa.

Naji says that when he had the designs made, the printer at the stationary shop was mesmerised. "I asked him which he preferred, the Israeli shekels or these Palestinian pounds. He said the Palestinian, without hesitation. People still have hope, they feel proud about anything that reminds them of their history." The back of the 20-pound note depicts the cartoonist Naji al-Ali, next to Lake Tiberias.

Naji's design for the front of the 200-pound note depicts Hisham's Palace in Jericho. While Naji and others want Palestine to have its own currency, the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA) told MEE that it would need to be in line with agreements that stipulate the approval of Israel, the World Bank and the IMF.

To read the complete article, see:
In pictures: What if Palestine had its own currency? (https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/pictures-what-if-palestine-use-own-currency-money)

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