of communication in Palestine began in 1987 during the first Intifada. This was a period in which there were no Palestinian TV or Radio stations in the Gaza Strip. Murals commemorated martyrs as well as called protestors to action. Israeli military would force Palestinians to wash off graffiti from their homes. The Dome of the Rock was common among murals in Palestine. In 2006, Hamas took over the graffiti scene. Hamas would encourage people to perform the first of the day’s five prayers through street art. Currently, The West Bank wall is covered in graffiti. Numerous messages can be found including marriage proposals, notes to friends, and jokes. Also common are messages of peace. One reads: "Mirror, mirror on the wall. When will this senseless object fall?" "Trying to imagine a clear view between Palestine and Israel," is another. Messages such as these splatter across the wall, and some graffiti artists will paint your message for a fee. Notable graffiti artists Middle East From Lebanon, Yazan Halwani has developed his form of graffiti based on Arabic calligraphy, figures and culture. His style mixes portraiture and Arabic calligraphy on large walls in Beirut. Halwani thinks that graffiti in the Arab world and Beirut should not evolve into a form of vandalism and therefore he says that his murals try to adapt to their environment and not against it. From Tehran, a graffiti artist by the name "A1one (a.k.a. Tanha)" has been credited with starting the modern street art movement in Tehran and Middle East. He started his career as an artist in the late 1990s with indoor painting. Now he is an international artist, known for his innovative Arabic and Persian calligraphic street art painted in various countries. In 2003, he moved outdoors by spraying a 30x40cm stencil on university walls to express to the "uncommon pressure" at the university which was "endured in silence." However, the motivations behind his art are not protest. He states that his art is simply personal expression: "A drawing on the street is similar to a letter: It proves that there is a writer." In the Arab World, three major areas of interest can be identified: Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and the Arab states that were involved in the Arab Spring. In these areas, graffiti has been perceived, both by the public and the media, as a barometer of the society. Lebanon’s religious and ethnic