Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim plays a concert at Friends school in the West Bank City of Ramallah. PHOTO - REUTERS

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Renowned Israeli maestro Daniel Barenboim conducted a concert for Palestinian youths in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday in what he said was an attempt to tone down Israeli-Palestinian tensions. The Argentine-born pianist and conductor struck the wrong chord among many Israelis when he first announced plans to perform in Ramallah in March during a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings in Israel. Barenboim cancelled the March performance in Ramallah, where Palestinian President Yasser Arafat keeps his headquarters, after Israeli security forces said they could not guarantee his safety.

„What I can do is play music, and maybe this way…we are able to build down the hatred,“ Barenboim told an audience of Palestinian youths at the concert at a school in the West Bank city, which has been under Israeli occupation since June. „I came here to stretch out my hand to you as a musician and to hear about your life.“ Barenboim has often criticised the policies of right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon‘s government. He currently runs summer workshops in Germany, the United States and Spain that bring together young Israeli and Arab musicians. Reuters