Germany's parliament, with a majority vote on Sunday, banned the "inverted triangle" symbol, imposing strict penalties on anyone who publishes or re-publishes images or videos promoting the emblem, which has become a propaganda symbol for the war in Gaza. This symbol was created by Hamas and utilized by Israel, serving as successful propaganda for both parties to demonstrate achieving painful strikes against each other. The German Bundestag, in its latest legislation, prohibited the dissemination of the symbol in public places and on social media, imposing severe penalties on anyone who violates the ban.
In Germany, the triangle has officially been referred to as the "Hamas Triangle," and promoting it has been criminalized following an urgent request from the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party to ban it due to the growing pro-Palestinian demonstrations and rising calls to cut Berlin's relations with Israel and halt arms exports to the country.
What is it? The red inverted triangle was first recognized after the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, featuring prominently in a video released by Hamas on November 8, documenting an Israeli Merkava tank being targeted, showcasing that it hit the target directly. With repeated use in all videos of the group's fighters targeting Israeli vehicles, it became a symbol raised during demonstrations alongside well-known Palestinian symbols such as the keffiyeh and watermelon, and printed on clothing, gaining substantial promotion.
Some view it as directly related to Palestinian symbols due to its placement on the Palestinian flag as a red triangle among the other three colors: green, white, and black. The situation remained until the Israeli army began using the same symbol to indicate Hamas targets scheduled for attack in Gaza, turning it into a contentious propaganda issue.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee stated on X in November, with the symbol's use in the bloody conflict, that "the red triangle is waiting for all the ISIS (Hamas) members, God willing."
Hamas has altered the triangle in multiple videos, replacing it with other symbols, such as a circle, to indicate the next intended target. Unlike the Palestinian group, which did not announce the reason for selecting this specific symbol, the Israeli army revealed in response to various foreign media outlets that "the use of the inverted triangle symbol indicates the targets it intends to attack." The army elaborated more about their usage of the triangle, stating, "We use the triangle in response to their (Hamas) media campaigns and to show that we are targeting their locations."
