BBC Culture contacted Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Minister of Public Security, for comment. His office explained: “Residents of East Jerusalem are free to hold any cultural and sporting event and we welcome the cultural richness of our capital Jerusalem, which is a city of peace and a hub of tourism worldwide. The only limitation in the law on holding cultural events in the city is on events in the organization or sponsored by the Palestinian Authority, which is a hostile political factor for Israel and a terrorist supporter, which works in every way to undermine Israeli sovereignty in our capital.”

Erdan’s office confirmed the closure of the memorial service, but added: “The event presented is just one example of the PA's activity in Jerusalem, which is involved in organising events of this kind, in order to violate Israeli sovereignty and strengthen its status among East Jerusalem residents. This activity is also an intentional breach of the law for the implementation of the Oslo Accords. Minister Erdan prohibits holding such events in accordance to the law, and every order he signs on it is backed by intelligence that proves the PA's involvement and has been examined by a legal adviser.”

Elias insists that the PA had no involvement in the event: “We, as Yabous Cultural Center, were approached by the family of the deceased, who set up the memorial and they arranged for the ceremony. The event was organised by the family of the deceased. According to my knowledge, there is no involvement for the PA.” The Burj al-Luqluq Society, which organizes the soccer tournament, also denies any connection to the PA, and insists that it does not receive any funding from it.

Events across the rest of the West Bank, except Area C, which is under Israeli control, are monitored by Palestinian Authorities who require no licence. Permission must, however, be sought from security officials, which is normally granted provided there are no obvious reasons for them to object. In any case, a strictly enforced 2am curfew is enforced.

Recording and releasing music is also challenging. There are studios in Ramallah and East Jerusalem, one of which Murad uses, but recording gear is not affordable for those less fortunate. High import taxes rule out delivery by post, meaning that equipment must be brought in by those who are able to travel abroad, and it can be hard to carry it across international borders.

There is one well known music label, Samer Jaradat Entertainment, in the Palestinian territories, but very few, if any, others that are fully operating, partly because there are so few people trained in copyright law. This requires that artists self-release, uploading onto online platforms such as Spotify, Deezer, YouTube, and Soundcloud themselves in the faint hope that their music will find an audience.