Palestinian postage stamps and currency exhibition in Gaza

One section of the exhibition covered old coins and banknotes, while the other had examples of historic postage stamps.

Stamp exhibition in Gaza [Mohammed Assad/Middle East Monitor]

An exhibition of old Palestinian postage stamps and currency was held in Gaza’s Journalism House on Monday. The ministry of communication and information technology took part in the event, which was the first of its kind in Palestine.

One section of the exhibition covered old coins and banknotes, while the other had examples of historic postage stamps. Exhibits dated back to early civilisations in Palestine, starting from the Byzantine era, passing through the Ottoman period and British Mandate, and ending with the ongoing Israeli occupation.

“Postages stamps and old money alone can narrate the story of the Palestinian suffering under several occupations, including the current Israeli occupation,” said the General Director of the Ministry of Communication, Riyad Odeh. He explained that his ministry has published 31 sets of postage stamps since 2009 in order to reflect the political, cultural, social and economic aspects of Palestinian life. They also illustrated the most prominent Palestinian sites, plants, birds and other icons.

“The postage stamp,” he added, “is the only aspect of Palestinian life free of the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip, as it travels around the world.”

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