A controversial mural by Italian pop artist aleXsandro Palombo depicting Greta Thunberg and U.N. rapporteur Francesca Albanese in an embrace with a Hamas terrorist reappeared Friday morning in central Milan, placed at the gathering point for a major pro-Palestine demonstration.
The work, titled “Human Shields,” was installed in Piazza XXIV Maggio, a square that often serves as a hub for political rallies. Palombo described the return of the mural as an act of resistance after previous versions were quickly vandalized by pro-Palestinian activists.
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Greta Thunberg and UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese in an embrace with a Hamas terrorist
“Human Shields” was first displayed in Rome near Termini Station and was defaced within hours, Palombo said, after being targeted ahead of a national mobilization. Reinstalling it in Milan, he added, is meant to challenge what he calls an extremist drift inside parts of Western activism and to push back against attempts to silence art through violence and censorship.
Palombo said he deliberately positioned the mural at the heart of the Milan rally to underline his view of public art as a space for argument and exchange, not ideological policing.
The artist has tied the mural’s appearances to the itinerary of Thunberg and Albanese, who took part in a nationwide strike in Genoa on November 28 and were expected in Rome later Friday for another pro-Palestine demonstration. Palombo said the mural’s “symbolic tour” is meant as a visual counter-narrative that encourages debate rather than conformity.
With its latest appearance, Palombo said, the mural is intended to highlight the risks of activism becoming a tool for radicalization in a polarized media environment, as well as what he calls the ambiguities surrounding the U.N.’s role in the Palestinian context.
The title refers to Hamas’ practice of using civilians as human shields, he said, while also arguing that influential public figures can be turned into ideological instruments in global narrative battles. Palombo warned that activism can become a megaphone for propaganda when slogans and gestures harden into intolerance.
He also pointed to recurring episodes of street violence and antisemitism at some protests, saying organizers too often fail to distance themselves from hate. The mural, he said, is a call to isolate and condemn all forms of hatred.
Palombo, known for mixing pop culture with blunt political imagery, has drawn international attention in recent years for murals addressing antisemitism, the Holocaust and the October 7 terror attack, many of which have also been vandalized.