Palestinian human rights groups on Tuesday called on the Palestinian Authority to arrest a female DJ after a dance party at a Muslim religious site near the West Bank city of Jericho.
Sama abdulhadi
(Photo: AFP)
Ammar Dweik, director of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights, said she was detained on Tuesday for another 15 days.
Her family said an application for bail had been rejected.
Shawan Jabarin, general director of the Palestinian rights group Al-Haq, called the alleged “tribal arrest” he aimed at satisfying a section of Palestinian opinion.
Many believe that Abdulhadi was the first Palestinian woman to become a professional DJ.
Dweik, whose own group was set up by the PA, said Abdulhadi had official permission for the Nabi Musa event.
“We asked today for her release because her arrest is not logical,” he said. “She had received permission from the ministry of tourism.”
“Nabi Musa is not only a religious site but also a tourist site,” he said. “If electronic music were not appropriate for it, the ministry should not have given permission.”
A video of the incident posted on social media showed men and women dancing together at the gathering, raising public anger and allegations that they were evicted from the site, where there is a mosque.
The incident, one comment on Twitter, said, “is very disappointing. It’s a disgrace to all three [monotheistic] religions. ”
“How do you meet a group of Palestinian liberal party at Nabi Musa mosque?”
At one point, men entered the site and pushed participants out. The incident also occurred despite coronavirus restrictions in place in the West Bank.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh
(Photo: Reuters)
At the request of Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, a commission of inquiry was set up “to find out what happened at Nabi Musa.”
A government official said he could not comment as the case was subject to an ongoing commission of investigation.