Zeft Ala Qemash 01

According to the artist, the early meaning of zeft in Arabic is asphalt. Zeft it also commonly used as a pejorative term that expresses a wide range of feelings from a disheartened state of mind to revulsion, or a curse when applied to a situation, and sometimes it refers to misfortune. It is well known that Israel’s national interests and colonial project demand acquiring the language of the enemy, and the Israeli soldiers were certainly aware of the negative nuances of the word zeft when they covered the streets with asphalt. Besides, we must remember that in Gaza, with the circulation of political leaflets being as restricted as the mobility of people, messages and statements are transmitted through graffiti or inscriptions on houses and walls in public spaces.