Palestinian activist twins Muna and Mohammed El-Kurd made it this year to TIME Magazine’s annual top 100 list of the most influential people in the world.
The 23-year-olds rose to prominence when they became the face of the fight against Jewish settlers in Palestine’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood earlier this year.
The duo was not only fighting the forced displacement of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah but also the constant detainment and arrests of activists due to their activities online.
The siblings were detained earlier this year for taking the Sheikh Jarrah fight to the internet.
“Through online posts and media appearances, sibling activists Mohammed and Muna El-Kurd provided the world with a window into living under occupation in East Jerusalem this spring – helping to prompt an international shift in rhetoric in regard to Israel and Palestine,” the magazine wrote about the siblings.
The siblings “challenged existing narratives about Palestinian resistance” through their online activism, the magazine continued, stating that they played a role in “pushing back suggestions that violence was being predominantly carried out by Palestinians.”
Following this recognition, Mohammed El-kurd stated on Twitter on Wednesday that though having his name on the list is one “positive” development, symbolism is not enough to truly support Palestine.
The TIMES 100 list for 2021 also included Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Bardar as well as singers and political and royal figures.
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