RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian Ministry of Culture is facing a major challenge as it considers saving Jenin Cinema, the only cinema in Jenin province in the northern West Bank. The cinema runs the risk of being demolished after its board of directors decided Aug. 23 to shut it down and put it up for sale, Jenin Cinema Director Lamih al-Assir told Al-Monitor.
The board's decision to sell the cinema — which was founded by four Palestinian families in Jenin in 1958 and was one of the largest and most successful cinemas in Palestine — was made after the cinema’s earnings tumbled over the last three years, leaving its owners with no other choice but to put it up for sale. As a result, the cinema that was the province’s only window to cinematic and cultural life shut its doors.
