JERUSALEM, January 17, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli army forces Sunday banned the Palestinian National Theater, known as El-Hakawati from holding a cultural event in the occupied city of Jerusalem.

El-Hakawati, the only theater in the city of Jerusalem which caters to Palestinians, planned to hold an event to examine the cultural scene in Jerusalem in the presence of the Minister of Culture Ehab Bessiaso. However Israeli authorities raided the theater prior to the event and handed its administration an order demanding to cancel the event.

The Israeli minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan said, they will not allow anyone to compromise Israel’s sovereignty or allow the presence of the Palestinian Authority in Israel.

The theater has been for long the target of many Israeli attempts in its pursuit to undermine the Palestinian Arab heritage and culture in the city of Jerusalem.

Very recently, the theater was under threat of closure and seizure. It published an appeal to Palestinian, Arab and international institutions and businessmen to save the theater from closure in two days.

Director Amer Khalil, received a phone call on November 26, 2015 from the Israeli Enforcement and Collection Authority (ECA), responsible for debt collection and law enforcement, notifying him of the intention to complete the seizure of the theater building in 48 hours.

The statement also added the Israeli ECA seized the bank account of the theater and handed a notification on the building seizure to the Khalil.

According to Khalil, the amount needed to halt the seizure order was secured, but a safety net must be provided to prevent the closure of El-Hakawati.

El Hakawati theater is the only remaining Palestinian theater and one of the few remaining cultural institutions in Jerusalem, after prolonged Israeli destruction of Palestinian cultural and political life in the city.

Established in 1984, the theater is located in the center of Jerusalem, and is considered an important element and a center for Palestinian culture and art. The theater is also a platform to Palestinian singer, artistes and comedians who perform to children in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

M.H