When A'ed Abu Amro, a 20-year-old Palestinian, protests every Monday and Friday at the Israeli border fence against the Israeli blockade of Gaza, he carries the same flag.
On Monday, he was photographed by Mustafa Hassouna of Turkey's Anadolu Agency, carrying the flag while swinging a slingshot, smoke from burning tyres billowing behind him. The photo has been tweeted thousands of times and drawn comparisons with the iconic French Revolution painting, Liberty Leading the People, by Eugene Delacroix.
Amro, who lives in the al-Zaytoun neighbourhood in Gaza City, told Al Jazeera that he was "surprised this picture of me went viral". "I participate in protests on a weekly basis, sometimes more. I didn't even know there was a photographer near me." He said friends sent him the image - taken in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza - the next day, having spotted it being shared on social media.
"I don't go to protests to get pictures of me taken, but this has encouraged me to continue demonstrating," he told Al Jazeera.
"If I get killed, I want to be wrapped in the same flag. We are demanding our right of return, and protesting for our dignity and the dignity of our future generation."
