Palestinian folk singer Mohammad Barghouti 

By Maan Rimawi

RAMALLAH, August 30, 2017 (WAFA) - Perhaps the Palestinian folk singer Mohammad Barghouti, 23, did not know that he is going to end up in an Israeli jail because of his popular folk songs. But he did along with two others from his band.

Israeli soldiers raided early Wednesday Barghouti’s home in the village of Kufr Ein to the north of Ramallah and arrested him. They also raided the home of his organ player Naji Rimawi and the owner of a local music studio and artist, Nazzal Barghouti, and arrested them as well.

All this came after Barghouti wrote and sang a folk song glorifying Palestinians who resist the Israeli occupation of their homeland and its oppression of millions of Palestinians.

His latest song that got him in trouble was dedicated to Omar al-Abed, from the neighboring village of Kobar, who recently stabbed and killed three Israeli settlers in the illegal settlement of Halamish, built on expropriated Palestinian land that belong to his ancestors. Al-Abed was shot and injured and is now facing charges for the killings.

Israel has decided to wage a war against any Palestinian who glorifies in any way whom the Palestinians refer to as martyrs, if they were killed by Israelis, or freedom fighters, if they got captured.

For the Palestinians these are national heroes and they deserve to be honored with songs and other means, regardless of what Israel or the rest of the world might think about their act.

The Israeli soldiers, who have been terrorizing the village of Kobar and its 3000 residents since the incident in a revenge act, were not satisfied with only arresting the three musicians, but also seized hard discs and CDs of Barghouti’s songs that he normally sings in weddings or other local events. They also beat his father, who had to be transferred to hospital for treatment.

M.K.