AN Australian pro-Palestine activist says she was arrested at gunpoint, falsely imprisoned and denied food and phone contact for 15 hours over what Israeli authorities say is a visa irregularity.
East Jerusalem cinema reopens after 20 years of closure with great hall accommodating 600 people
15.07.09 - 15:03
Mohamed Khaled / PNN exclusive - After a closure of more than 20 years the red city cinema of Salah Addin Street is reopened.
The East Jerusalem movie house reopened last night under the name Alhambra, or Red Palace.
It ran from 1952 until its closure in 1989.
A recent remodeling job was welcomed by a crowd of citizens, representatives of the tourist and trade ministries, and consuls from Arab and foreign countries.
The new construction transformed the cinema into a modern affair fully equipped with the latest in voice and lighting technologies. An adjoining hall can accommodate some 600 people with a restaurant for 120. The parking is spare for those numbers but grand for East Jerusalem’s Salah Addin Street with spaces for 50 cars.
Dr. Samir Huleileh is the CEO of the Palestine Development and Investment Ltd. (PADICO), a company that was part of the restoration work along with the Jerusalem Tourism Investment at two million dollars. He told PNN today that the quality of services the Red Palace Cinema is better than what is available anywhere in the West Bank or within Israeli boundaries in terms of both equipment and human resources.
It will be a central location for social, cultural and recreational activities, Dr. Huleileh added. It reopens now, he said, as a testament to the ongoing activities of “Jerusalem as Capital of Arab Culture, 2009.”
However Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and West Bank cannot reach Alhambra Palace due to measures imposed by the occupying Israeli administration on entrance to East Jerusalem.
