'Bella Ciao' protest song tells Trump what Palestinians think of his 'Deal of the Century'

'Bella Ciao' protest song tells Trump what Palestinians think of his 'Deal of the Century'
A group of Palestinians have released an Arabic adaptation of Bella Ciao to protest Trump's so-called Deal of the Century.
2 min read
17 February, 2020
Palestinians are against Trump's controversial deal [Getty]

Palestinians have released a new adaptation of Italian revolutionary song Bella Ciao with lyrics condemning Trump's so-called "Deal of the Century".

Bella Ciao, meaning "goodbye beautiful" in Italian, is an resistance folk song that was sung by paddy agricultural workers who used to protest against harsh working conditions in the paddy fields of northern Italy.

The song was later adopted as an anthem of the anti-fascist resistance against the Nazis and gained global fame as a leftist anthem.

"Country of peace, land of religions, we lived happily and safely. I woke up and found that my country is occupied. They stole the land, they killed the dreams, they expelled our grandparents," the song started with.

"Deal ciao, deal ciao, deal ciao ciao ciao," the song continued, using the Italian word for bye.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump unveiled the initiative for a Palestinian-Israeli deal that would cede large swaths of the West Bank to Israel and put forward a set of near-impossible conditions for Palestinians to meet.

Palestinians have in the past used adapted Bella Ciao in their national resistance against the brutal Israeli occupation.

In 2018, Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip released a video clip with the original Bella Ciao song using images of Palestinians affected by Israel.

The song made the rounds across other parts of the Arab world. More recently, in Lebanon, protesters sang it during mass raves in the city of Tripoli, at the start of the uprising.



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