عربي
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) & Ministry of Culture (MoC) jointly issue a Press Release on the Palestinian National Culture Day
To mark the Palestinian National Culture Day on March 13th, PCBS & MoC present the status of cultural institutions in Palestine.
As part of documenting the Israeli occupation violations against the Palestinian cultural heritage and emphasizing the necessity of protecting human heritage from destruction and genocide aimed at erasing the identity and history of the Palestinian people, PCBS and MoC present in this press release the Israeli occupation forms of targeting the Palestinian cultural and civilizational heritage, including religious, archaeological, and historical sites, cultural institutions, individuals working in the cultural sector, and World Heritage sites.
The cultural institution is an institution that includes items (tools and equipment) used for arts, crafts, recreational, and sport activities that promote and preserve culture and facilitate the practice of cultural activities in a broad sense.
118 martyrs among the employees of the cultural sector in Gaza Strip in 2024
During 2024, the cultural sector in Gaza Strip faced an operation of genocide and a destruction campaign that targeted the Palestinian existence, including literary and artistic figures, cultural and heritage sites, cultural centers, libraries, and museums. The Israeli occupation has also destroyed internationally recognized cultural sites listed on the World Heritage List, such as: Blakhiyah Site, Tal Umm Amer, famous for its mosaic floors. Below are some indicators of the cultural reality in Gaza Strip before the Israeli aggression and the losses it suffered:
The reality of workers in the cultural sector in Gaza Strip before the Israeli aggression and losses during 2024
|
Indicator |
Before the Israeli Aggression |
Losses During the Israeli Aggression |
|
Registered writers in the Union of Writers |
200 |
20 martyrs and the rest were displaced outside Gaza Strip. |
|
Registered fine artists in the Union of Fine Artists |
185 |
30 martyrs and the rest were displaced outside Gaza Strip. |
|
Registered musicians |
107 |
10 martyrs |
|
Performing arts, cinema, and theater artists |
463 |
58 martyrs and the rest were displaced outside Gaza Strip. |
The reality of cultural institutions in Gaza Strip before the Israeli aggression and losses during 2024
|
Indicator |
Before the Israeli Aggression |
Losses During the Israeli Aggression |
|
Registered cultural centers within the Ministry of Culture |
25 |
All suffered complete or partial destruction |
|
Unregistered cultural institutions within the Ministry of Culture |
80 |
30 completely destroyed |
|
Public and institutional libraries |
87 |
All suffered complete or partial destruction |
|
Publishing houses and printing presses |
15 |
8 completely destroyed |
|
Archaeological and heritage sites |
325 |
200 destroyed |
|
Traditional embroidered dresses and artifacts in museums |
3,500 |
2,100 destroyed |
The West Bank governorates have witnessed a significant escalation in attacks targeting cultural institutions and workers, leading to the cancellation of a number of events and causing severe damage to cultural infrastructure. Below are the significant decline in operational cultural centers in the West Bank during 2024 compared to previous years, in addition to the decline in the number of visitors to museums and the number of plays performed in Theaters.
The number of cultural centers operating in the West Bank decreased in 2024 compared to the previous year
The number of cultural centers operating in the West Bank decreased from 510 cultural centers in 2023 to 492 cultural centers in 2024.
Distribution of Cultural Centers Operating in Palestine by Region for Selected Years
|
Region |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023* |
2024 |
|
Palestine |
528 |
577 |
584 |
622 |
.. |
|
West Bank |
473 |
505 |
508 |
510 |
492 |
|
Gaza Strip |
55 |
72 |
76 |
112 |
.. |
*: The data shown do not represent the period of the Israeli aggression against Gaza Strip.
The number of cultural activities in the West Bank slightly increased in 2024 to 5,788 compared to the previous year; 5,477 activities during 2023.
Training courses continued to rank first among cultural activities held in cultural centers (about 72% of the activities).
Percentage Distribution of Activities Held in Cultural Centers Operating in Palestine by Type of Activity for Selected Years
|
Type of Activity |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023* |
2024** |
|
Training Courses |
62.8 |
62.7 |
65.5 |
62.9 |
72.4 |
|
Performances |
11.1 |
7.9 |
9.2 |
8.6 |
3.0 |
|
Lectures |
14.5 |
17.5 |
13.8 |
11.1 |
12.0 |
|
Seminars |
10.2 |
10.2 |
9.3 |
15.4 |
10.6 |
|
Exhibitions |
1.4 |
1.7 |
2.2 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
|
Total (%) |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
|
Total (Number) |
4,738 |
7,291 |
7,601 |
6,513 |
5,788 |
* : Data include activities held in cultural centers in Gaza Strip for the first half of the year
**: Data include the cultural centers in the West Bank only.
97% of participants participated face-to-face in the cultural activities in the West Bank
In 2024, about 217 thousand persons participated in the cultural activities of the operating cultural centers in the West Bank which responded (about 211 thousand participants participated in cultural activities held face-to-face (about 97%)); about 6 thousand participants participated in cultural activities that were held online.
Distribution of Participants in Cultural Activities Held in the West Bank by Method of Holding the Activity, 2024
The number of museums visitors in the West Bank decreased during 2024 to more than the half compared with 2023
There were 26 museums in the West Bank during 2024, two of them did not respond.
Distribution of Museums Operating in Palestine by Region for Selected Years
|
Region |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023* |
2024 |
|
Palestine |
32 |
31 |
32 |
31 |
.. |
|
West Bank |
27 |
26 |
27 |
26 |
26 |
|
Gaza Strip |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
.. |
*: The data shown do not represent the period of the Israeli aggression against Gaza Strip.
The number of visitors to museums in the West Bank that provided data reached about 80 thousand visitors in 2024: 81% were Palestinians and 19% of them are from other nationalities. Results showed that the largest number of visitors was in April with about 14 thousand visitors, while the lowest number was in February with 3 thousand visitors.
Distribution of Museum Visitors in Palestine by Region for Selected Years
|
Region |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023* |
2024 |
|
Palestine |
25,735 |
114,162 |
265,223 |
186,077 |
.. |
|
West Bank |
20,542 |
98,857 |
213,207 |
176,671 |
79,789 |
|
Gaza Strip |
5,193 |
15,305 |
52,016 |
9,406 |
.. |
* : Data include museum visitors in Gaza Strip for the first half of the year
The number of Theater Plays in the West Bank decreased during 2024 to more than the half compared with 2023
There were 15 operating Theaters in the West Bank during 2024, one of them did not respond.
Distribution of Theaters Operating in Palestine by Region for Selected Years
|
Region |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023* |
2024 |
|
Palestine |
16 |
17 |
17 |
17 |
.. |
|
West Bank |
13 |
14 |
14 |
14 |
15 |
|
Gaza Strip |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
.. |
*: The data shown do not represent the period of the Israeli aggression against Gaza Strip
159 plays were performed in the West bank in 2024; out of which 98 plays were for children, 11 plays were for adults and 50 plays were for both children and adults. There were about 19 thousand Theater attendees, where the highest number was in November with about 3 thousand attendees, while the lowest number was in January with 140 attendees only.
Distribution of Theater Plays in Palestine by Region for Selected Years
|
Region |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023* |
2024 |
|
Palestine |
96 |
370 |
348 |
347 |
.. |
|
West Bank |
92 |
367 |
346 |
342 |
159 |
|
Gaza Strip |
4 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
.. |
* : Data include theater plays in Gaza Strip for the first half of the year
Notice for users:
(..): means data are not available.
The Sources:
1. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2025. Database of Comprehensive Survey on Cultural Centers, Museums and Theaters in the West Bank, 2024. Ramallah-Palestine.
2. Ministry of Culture 2025. Directorate of Planning & Project Management. Database of Administrative Records, 2024. Ramallah – Palestine.