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Soldier's Square or Square of the Unknown Soldier (Arabic: ميدان الجندي المجهول Midan al-Jundi al-Majhool) is a city square in Gaza City, State of Palestine, situated along Omar Mukhtar Street in the Rimal district. It used to be a large public garden popular with unemployed Gazans during the day and promenading families in the evenings. During the Israel-Hamas war, Israeli forces used bulldozers to flatten the square. The square is now a stretch of brown dirt, the trees have been uprooted, and the playground has been destroyed.

History

Soldier's Square receives its name from an unknown native Palestinian Arab soldier (feda'i) who died during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and was buried at the site. The square was built by the Egyptian Army. Prior to Israel's occupation of Gaza in 1967, the center of the site bore a statue pointing north to the rest of Palestine commemorating the soldier. It was pulled down by Israeli authorities and until the 1990s, Soldier's Square was a patch of sand with a white plinth (remnant of the statue) in the center. A public garden was later developed at the site with financial help from Norway, along with a coffeehouse serving visitors to the square. On January 19, 2023, Palestinians gathered in the square to celebrate the release of Maher Younis, a freedom fighter who was imprisoned by Israel for 40 years for being part of the then banned Fatah movement and killing an Israeli soldier.

References

1. ^ Winter, 2000, p.429.
2. "Palestinians try to rebuild their lives in Gaza's ruins". NBC News. 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
3. "Gaza City". Clinton White House. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
4. ^ Jacobs, 1998, p.455."
5. "Israel releases Palestinian inmate after 40 years behind bars". Getty Images. Retrieved 8 December 2024.

Bibliography

• Winter, David (2000), Israel Handbook: With the Palestinian Authority Areas, Footprint Travel Guides, ISBN 978-1-900949-48-4
• Jacobs, Daniel (1998), Israel and the Palestinian territories, Rough Guides, ISBN 978-0-8021-4350-1

External links

A Postcard, the Unknown Soldier Square in Gaza, 1995 from the Palestinian Museum's Digital Archive

31°31′09.75″N 34°26′40.72″E / 31.5193750°N 34.4446444°E / 31.5193750; 34.4446444

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