On October 1, 2023, the Paltoday.ps website, which is affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), reported on a new line of "perfumes with the fragrance of the rockets of the resistance." The products, in bottles shaped like rockets, are made and marketed by a Gaza Strip Palestinian company, Al-Hijaz Perfumes.
The owner of the Al-Hijaz for Perfumes shop, Bilal Abu Saraya, said that the idea of selling fragrances in rocket-shaped bottles was inspired by the May 2021 Israel-Hamas conflict, which Hamas refers to as Operation Sword of Jerusalem. He added that the fragrances currently on the market bear the names of the rockets fired against Israel by the Palestinian resistance factions: the Buraq-100, used by the PIJ; the Ayyash 250K used by Hamas's military wing Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, and the KN-103 used by the Fatah military wing Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Also being sold is a fragrance called "Lions' Den," for the West Bank-based militias.[1] Abu Saraya added that the fragrances are very popular among "revolutionary and resistance-loving youth."[2]
To view the MEMRI TV clip of an interview with shop owner Bilal Abu Saraya, click here or below:
The perfume company has already shared promotional videos on Facebook highlighting some of the fragrances.[3]
In December 2012, following Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza the previous month, another Gaza Strip-based Palestinian perfume company introduced the M-75 fragrance. It was named for the Gaza-manufactured M-74 rocket used for the first time by the 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades during the fighting.[4]
Below are photos from Palestinian media showing the Gaza-based Al-Hijaz Perfumes company's new line of "perfumes with the fragrance of the rockets of the resistance" that are fired against Israel:
Al-Hijaz for Perfumes shop owner Bilal Abu Saraya arranges his display of rocket-shaped bottles of the new Ayyash 250K fragrance (Source: Paltoday.ps, October 1, 2023)
Abu Saraya demonstrates the fragrance (Source: Paltoday.ps, October 1, 2023)
Displaying a fragrance named for the Qassam missile (Source: Paltoday.ps, October 1, 2023)
Displaying the gift-boxed PIJ Buraq-100. The box features the text "Free Palestine" (Source: Paltoday.ps, October 1, 2023)
The gift-boxed KN-103 fragrance. The box features the text "Free Palestine" (Source: Paltoday.ps, October 1, 2023)
Display of the rocket fragrances (Source: Paltoday.ps, October 1, 2023)
A customer buys one of the new fragrances at the Al-Hijaz for Perfumes shop (Source: Paltoday.ps, October 1, 2023)
