It was meant to be a rare example of psychological border busting in the Arab-Israeli conflict: The "Strings of Freedom," a small group of young Palestinian musicians from the Jenin refugee camp, received rare permission last week to enter Israel to play songs of peace for a group of Holocaust survivors.

"Only people who have been through suffering understand each other," said Ali Zeid, an 18-year-old musician with the group.

As Diaa Hadid of the Associated Press wrote, "the two-hour meeting starkly highlighted how distant Palestinians and Israelis have become after more than eight years of bloody Palestinian militant attacks and deadly Israeli military reprisals."

In one of the biggest surprises, the AP noted, the Palestinian musicians had no idea they were playing for Holocaust survivors, and the Holocaust survivors were surprised to hear that the musicians came from Jenin, which was the scene of one of the most politically-explosive Israeli military operations of the second Palestinian uprising.

On Sunday, after the musical event received widespread international attention, the AP reported that the youth orchestra had been shut down by Jenin officials who accused the orchestra director of exploiting the Palestinian musicians for a Jewish political cause.

"The Holocaust happened, but we are facing a similar massacre by the Jews themselves," said Adnan Hindi, described by the AP as a Jenin refugee camp official. "We lost our land, and we were forced to flee and we've lived in refugee camps for the past 50 years."

Wafa Younis, the youth orchestra conductor, condemned the move.

"They want to destroy this group," Hindi told the AP. "It's a shame, it's a tragedy. What did these poor, elderly people do wrong? What did these children do wrong?"

(AP photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)