Band That Sings About End of Israel Declared National Band By Abbas

By Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

A song and dance group that has recently performed hate and violence promotion songs in the PA has been honored and turned into an official Palestinian national band by decree of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Among the performances that have been broadcast by the Alashekeen band on PA TV was a dance and song about conquering Israel through war.

Israeli cities Lod and Ramle as well as Jerusalem are presented as Palestinian cities to be liberated through "Jihad" by Palestinians who have "replaced bracelets with weapons." The song says: "Pull the trigger" to "redeem Jerusalem, Nablus and the country." It also describes Israelis as "despicable" and says that "the Palestinian revolution awaits [them]."

The band's logo includes the Palestinian flag next to the map of Israel presented as "Palestine" covered by a *Kafiya*, the Arab scarf.

Palestinian Media Watch on Sept. 12, 2010: Click to view song on PA TV

Fight, brother, the flag will never be lowered, the torches will never die out." On [Mt.] Carmel (in Israel) and in the [Jordan] Valley, we are rocks and streams. In Lod (Israeli city) we are poems, and in Ramle (Israeli city) - grenades. We, my brother, shall remain the revolution of the fighting nation."

"The Zionists went out from [their] homelands, compounding damage and enmity. But the Palestinian revolution awaits [them]. The orchard called us to the [armed] struggle. We replaced bracelets with weapons. We attacked the despicable [Zionists]. This invading enemy is on the battlefield. This is the day of consolation of *Jihad*. Pull the trigger. We shall redeem Jerusalem, Nablus and the country." [PA TV (Fatah), Sept. 12, 2010]

This was the announcement in the PA daily: "The Palestinian Alashekeen band discovered yesterday that President Mahmoud Abbas recently published a presidential decision to turn the band, established in 1978 in Damascus, into a [Palestinian] national institution. Director of the Alashekeen band, Maisa Harb, said that the President had approved the decision as part of the presidential directives which he had announced during a banquet which he held in honor of the members of the band... The director of the band introduced her speech with gratitude to President Mahmoud Abbas for his interest in and admiration for the band." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 22, 2010]