Rap/rock festival in Ramallah, West Bank prompts security concerns
RAMALLAH — The Palestinian Authority is planning a second Western-style music festival in early October despite anticipated opposition from the rival Hamas and Fatah movements.
The PA has organized the festival for October 2009 in the West Bank city
of Ramallah. The festival, scheduled for Oct. 3-4, has been billed as 'Taybeh
Oktoberfest' and would feature rap and rock music.
"There will be tight security and we don't expect any disruptions," a PA
official said.
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This marked the second rock festival in the West Bank in three months.
In July 2009, the PA sponsored a festival in Nablus in an effort to promote
economic development and tourism in the northern West Bank.
The Nablus festival, supported by the United States, drew harsh
condemnations from the ruling Fatah movement and its rival Hamas. After two
days, Fatah gunmen torched the performance stages, located just meters away
from PA police and security forces. The arson ended the festival.
Officials said they did not expect similar disruptions at the Taybeh
festival. They cited tighter security and a greater tolerance for Western
culture in the Ramallah area.
