Ramallah - An Arab-Israeli musician has been banned from the refugee camp in the West Bank where she taught children for taking them to Israel to perform in a concert before an audience that included Holocaust survivors.

Wafa Younis was ordered to leave the camp in Jenin and never return, the head of the camp's "popular committee," Adnan Hindi told the German Press Agency dpa on Wednesday.

Younis, who hails from the village of Arra in Israel, ignored the ban but camp residents reported her return to the committee, he said.

Camp residents claim the musician, who had been giving lessons several times a week for three years, had deceived the children and their families. Hindi said the families were told that the children were going to take a trip to the beach in Tel Aviv and to play music to help them relax and enjoy their childhood.

"The children were exploited for a political issue that serves the goals of the occupiers (Israel) and which aims to smear the reputation of the camp residents and cause harm to their national stand after many years of struggle," Hindi said.

He said Younis expressed regret over the incident. "We told her that we would reconsider the decision to ban her from Jenin after she makes that public apology."

Iyad Istaiti, director of the Jenin branch of the Ramallah-based Al-Kamandjati, a music school told dpa, "We are against using children for dubious or political reasons that aim to demoralize the children and serve the occupiers." (dpa)