FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

JERUSALEM – July 4, 2005 – The Hamas-controlled town council in the West Bank city of Qalqilya banned the music and dance performances of the Palestine International Festival, which holds outdoor plays and concerts across the West Bank during the summer.

A council spokesman said the decision was partly made to avoid damaging the grass at the location of the festival. However, he also argued that the council was elected to protect the conservative values of the city, which disapproves of men and women mixing socially. Hamas won most of the council seats in Qalqilya’s local elections in May, ousting the mainstream Fatah party.

MIFTAH condemns the council’s decision to cancel the festival, which denies Palestinians freedom of expression and the right to celebrate their culture. The move is an unacceptable exercise of political power to advance Hamas’ social beliefs and agenda, which does not represent those of all Palestinian citizens.

The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy, MIFTAH, is a non-governmental, non-partisan Jerusalem-based institution dedicated to fostering democracy and good governance within Palestinian society through promoting public accountability, transparency, the free flow of information and ideas and the challenging of stereotyping at home and abroad.

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