Dance festival marks Ramallah centennial

The municipality of the West Bank historical city of Ramallah is planning to highlight its centennial anniversary through a contemporary dance festival. But the plan has triggered the resentment of the ousted government of Islamist Hamas in Gaza.

Festival supervisor Khaled Allian said the event is part of the cultural activities held by the organizing body First Ramallah Group which, he said, "has a long history of struggle."

"The festival aims at introducing international troupes to our reality, and we don't like this muzzling policy. You cannot determine what people would or would not like and we shouldn't exploit each other's pains."

But Hamas under-secretary of Endowments and Religious Affairs Saleh al-Raqab saw the event as inconsiderate of the Palestinian struggle, especially in the light of the ongoing siege of Gaza.

"Gazans will express their resentment at this festival in the next Friday prayer sermons and will expose the organizers who do not care about the suffering of Gaza and the crimes of Israel."

Raqab added that the millions of dollars spent on this festival should instead go to the Palestinian people, 80% of which are living under poverty line and are suffering of the increasing rate of unemployment.

"We are not in Europe to bring a foreign dance troupe while our youth and children are dying. How would Arab and Muslim people support us when we're dancing?"

Allian, for his part, dismissed Raqab's remarks about the cost of the festival: "The cost of the festival does not exceed that of a similar one in any small town plus the cost of the festival will be covered by local organizations, the municipality of Ramallah, the Palestinian Ministry of Culture, and some European consulates in the Palestinian territories."

The festival will feature 12 local and 14 foreign dance troupes, but no Arab troupes will take part: "Israel does not grant them entry except with an Israeli visa and we don't accept that."

(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid)