Hamas bans Valentine’s Day celebrations

A few hours before it even started, Hamas cancelled a celebration scheduled for Valentine’s Day and arrested the organizers, abruptly retracting an earlier approval.

The Interior Ministry of the ousted government in Gaza cancelled last minute a Valentine’s concert which was due to be held in one of the hotels in the strip.

Hamas had earlier approved the event and given the organizers the necessary permits, vowing to let the party be held without any interference. However, just a few hours before its commencement, the concert was abruptly canceled and several organizers and performers were arrested, said one of the singers who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“They interrogated us then set us free after forbidding us to give any press statements about what happened,” he told Al Arabiya.

Although the young performer denied that he or any of his arrested colleagues were subjected to physical harm, he said they were humiliated and treated inhumanely.

“They also caused us severe psychological damage as we are embarrassed to face the dozens of people who booked tickets to come and watch us.”

He also vehemently refuted allegations that the concert was cancelled due to ethical code violations and insisted that all organizers gave their word to the government about the event’s adherence to the traditions of Palestine’s conservative society.

“We agreed to focus on cultural performances and entertainment activities in which we were to distribute gifts to the participants. All the attendees were families who wanted to have a little break from stress.”

They interrogated us then set us free after forbidding us to give any press statements about what happened

Anonymous singer

Other events cancelled

This was not the only event celebrating Valentine’s Day that Hamas cancelled. Sources revealed to Al Arabiya that other parties scheduled to take place at several hotels overlooking the sea in Gaza were also cancelled despite also having been granted approval.

The administrations of these hotels were also asked not to give any press statements about the bans.

Several days before Valentine’s, an uproar began amongst Hamas members after the Interior Ministry approved several parties.

Hamas supporters and representatives in the Legislative Council expressed their disappointment at the Islamic movement’s approval of the events and several youth launched online campaigns calling for the government to retract their approval. Eventually, Hamas succumbed to the pressure and chose to appease the majority of the population by cancelling the once-approved parties.

Despite the general indignation against the day of love and despite the eventual bans, touches of Valentine’s Day could still be spotted in the streets of the Gaza Strip. Gift and flower shops were brimming in red from the Valentine’s items sold.

Youth from both sexes bought gifts and celebrated discretely for fear of being interrogated by the authorities or offending the conservative residents of the city.

In the Friday sermons that preceded Valentine’s Day, preachers warned youth of celebrating what they labeled a religiously prohibited occasion that should not be observed by Muslims.

The Ministry of Islamic Endowments in the ousted government approached the matter in a differently as it organized several activities that aimed at orienting youth toward to their religion and stirring them away from un-Islamic activities, according to a ministry statement.


(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid).