There are many symbols that have been paraded through the Congress of Deputies. In 2020, Pablo Iglesias and Alberto Garzón attended the inauguration of their positions wearing a red triangle on the lapel; A couple of years before, the Podemos deputies decided to place a symbol of the republic in the same place, at the ceremony for the 40 years of the Spanish Constitution; and we must not forget the yellow ties linked to the independence process.

This symbology is usually used in moments where many spotlights are pointed, in events of maximum expectation, such as the investiture of Pedro Sánchez, which started this Wednesday in the Congress of Deputies. And taking advantage of the occasion, several deputies from Sumar have arrived with a pin of a watermelon placed on the flap.

Watermelon has been a symbol that has served as a show of support for Palestine and that is not new at all. Its origin dates back to one of the most important moments of the chronology of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, specifically during the Six Day War. This armed conflict, which broke out in 1967, ended with Israel taking control of Gaza and the West Bank, also annexing East Jerusalem, and banning the display of the Palestinian flag.

It was all these movements that ended up further fueling the nationalist sentiment of the Palestinians who, to avoid this new norm, began to use the symbology of the watermelon, having its representation in exactly the same colors of the Palestinian national flag: red, black , White and green.

Although carrying the Palestinian flag is not a crime today—since the 1990s—the watermelon symbol has remained express support for the Palestinian people.