Music of Palestine

[1][2] In the areas now controlled by both Israel and Palestine, multiple ethnic groups and religions have long held on to a diversity of cultures.

The fellahin (farmers) sang a variety of work songs, used for tasks like fishing, shepherding, harvesting and making olive oil.

After the creation of Israel in 1948, large numbers of Arab Palestinians fled to, or were forced into, refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The most popular recorded musicians at the time were the superstars of Arab classical music, especially Umm Kulthum and Sayed Darwish.

the second generation of composers included among others: Patrick Lama, Amin Nasser, Nasri Fernando Dueri, and Saleem Zoughbi,.

The third generation includes younger musicians such as Habib Touma, Mounir Anastas, Bichara El Khail and Sam Gebran, etc..

[8] As might be expected, much of it deals with the struggle of living under Israeli occupation, the longing for peace, and the love of the land of Palestine.

Borrowing from traditional rap music that first emerged in the ghettos of Los Angeles and New York in the 1970s, "young Palestinian musicians have tailored the style to express their own grievances with the social and political climate in which they live and work.

There are many rappers who defend Palestinian nationalism, an example being, Ortega (Alhasan) who caused a sensation in the Israeli media in 2012 because of his songs' hostility to Israel.

Ortega (Alhasan) is considered a better performer of Palestinian rap in the Persian Gulf region, because he was born in the United Arab Emirates.

[12] In 2005 an outdoor music and dance performance in Qalqiliya was suddenly banned by the Hamas led municipality, for the reason that such an event would be forbidden by Islam.

[12][13] In response, the Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish warned that "There are Taliban-type elements in our society, and this is a very dangerous sign".

[12][13][14][15] The Palestinian columnist Mohammed Abd Al-Hamid, a resident of Ramallah, warned that this religious coercion could cause the migration of artists, and said "The religious fanatics in Algeria destroyed every cultural symbol, shattered statues and rare works of art and liquidated intellectuals and artists, reporters and authors, ballet dancers and singers – are we going to imitate the Algerian and Afghani examples?