Gaza’s ‘Hitler 2’ Store with Knife-Wielding Mannequins Reportedly Destroyed

A Gaza City clothing shop named “Hitler 2” — which grew its fame by showcasing masked mannequins holding knives, inspired by Palestinian stabbing attacks against Israeli civilians when it first opened — was reportedly destroyed during the current conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The shop, which debuted in 2015, can be seen in photos featuring display figures dressed in shirts with “Stab!” written across the chests.

In a clip produced following the store’s launch, young Palestinians celebrated the shop, demonstrating that the store’s controversial name functioned as a unique draw, attracting customers and increasing patronage.

Some of the young customers who applauded the shop’s tribute to knife-wielding Palestinian terrorists also expressed an eagerness to carry out attacks against Jews themselves.

“The name of the shop is ‘Hitler,’ and I like him because he was the most anti-Jewish person,” said then-20-year-old Hijaz Abu Shanab, who went on to accuse Israel of having left Palestinians with “nothing,” while asserting, “It is better for us now to go and die; we are living like the dead.”

“I like the clothes and the name; it is fantastic,” he added.

Immad Mharib, another 20-year-old Gaza resident at the time, said he came to the shop after seeing a Facebook ad featuring the knife, the Palestinian kaffiyeh scarf, and the mask, which had become “symbols for the intifada of Al-Aqsa.” 

“I want to buy from this shop,” he exclaimed. “I like the idea, as it is supporting our people in Jerusalem and the West Bank; I like the idea.”

A then-19-year-old named Wissam Ashraf said he was attracted to the shop “because it shows the symbol of the intifada in the West Bank.” 

“This is in support with our people in the West Bank, using the knife, mask, and kaffiyeh; these are nice things to attract people,” he said, adding, “It is nice and unique.”

Palestinians have launched two violent intifadas against the Jewish state and its civilians, the second of which took place at the start of the millennium and which saw hundreds of terror attacks and thousands of deaths over a four-year span.

Within a month of the business first opening its doors, a store in southern Gaza was also seen placing knives in the hands of its street mannequins — this time female ones.

The trend saw additional stores mimicking the practice.

According to some reports, Hitler 2 was recently destroyed by Israel in the current conflict with Hamas that began October 7 after the terrorist group perpetrated the deadliest attack against Jewish people since the Nazi Holocaust.

The massacre saw the torture, rape, execution, immolation, and abduction of hundreds of Israeli civilians, as well as widespread Palestinian support for it.

The wholesale slaughter, which drew parallels to scenes from the Holocaust, resulted in more than 1,200 dead inside the Jewish state, more than 5,300 wounded, and at least 241 hostages of all ages taken — of which nearly 140 remain captive.

The vast majority of the victims are civilians and include dozens of American citizens.

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Antisemitic narratives, including an adoration for Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, have long appeared in Palestinian culture as part of a long-standing opposition to the Jewish state.

Historically, Palestinian leaders —  such as former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Hajj Muhammad Amin Al-Husseini, dubbed the “father of the Palestinian people” — collaborated openly with Hitler, SS officer Heinrich Himmler, and other Nazi leaders in an effort to persuade them to extend the Nazis’ anti-Jewish program to the Arab world.

His stance opposing Jewish immigration to Palestine continued with the support of many Palestinian Arabs even after World War II, alongside broader Arab efforts to destroy Israel. 

In 2018, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who wrote his Ph.D. thesis denying aspects of the Holocaust, delivered a speech in which he appeared to defend Nazi Germany’s decision to murder Jews.

In September, governments and leaders across the globe voiced outrage over “horrifying” remarks concerning Jews and Hitler expressed by Abbas.

The comments of long-serving Abbas — who has remained president for 18 years despite a four-year term limit — were part of a speech he delivered in which he claimed Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was not an antisemite and that the Jews of Europe during his era were not killed due to their Jewish identity but due to their “role in society,” including “usury.”

Mein Kampf, Hitler’s autobiography, was even listed as a bestseller in Palestinian Authority-administered areas.

In November, Israeli President Isaac Herzog revealed an annotated copy of “Mein Kampf” in Arabic that was found in a children’s room that was used as a base by Hamas terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip.

The glorification of violence against Jews in Palestinian day-to-day life was also seen in an Associated Press report on rocket-shaped vials of perfume being sold in Gaza City a day before the October 7 attacks on Israel.

“I love resistance. It’s an art piece in my house,” one customer told the news outlet.

In a Christmas Day Wall Street Journal op-ed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out three basic conditions for peace in post-war Gaza: destroy Hamas, demilitarize Gaza, and de-radicalize the Palestinian population.

“Schools must teach children to cherish life rather than death, and imams must cease to preach for the murder of Jews,” he wrote. “Palestinian civil society needs to be transformed so that its people support fighting terrorism rather than funding it.”