Ramallah - Womanhood, domestic violence, sexuality and love are some of the themes dominating a new Palestinian soap opera, set to air next week at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"Our main focus was entertainment," said Fareed Majari, the producer of "Matabb" - Speed bump in Arabic - the name of what is being billed as the first homemade Palestinian soap opera, using local actors, dialect and themes to discuss pressing issues in the society.

"But we also wanted to talk about some of the burning issues which are sometimes swept under the carpet," he added, citing the English "Eastenders" and the German "Lindenstrasse" as his models.

"You can address serious, important issues through entertainment," said Fabienne Bessonn, from the European Commission, which funded much of the show, though she stressed "the idea was Palestinian."

The show centers around a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Ramallah, with much of the inspiration coming from actual projects run by the Goethe Institute - for whom Majair also works - and the German development agency, GTZ.

Although Matabb show enjoys taking jabs at NGOs, a dominant yet controversial force in the aid-flooded Palestinian territories, its focus is undoubtedly the love affair between young Sameera, a hijab-wearing environmentalist, and Abdullah who is infatuated with her.

What begins as innocent courting ends with the young woman being abused and threatened with death by her brother, who does not approve of the relationship.

Here again, motivation came from a sad reality.

"I went to a women's shelter in Bethlehem," said Majari, adding that the scenes he saw there inspired him to focus on the plight of those people.

The show twists and turns through the lives of Majeed and his wife Wafa, who wants more independence, Lena, who struggles to open up and allow herself to love and of course the sweet Sameera with her warm smile and the impish Abdallah, who sports a five o'clock shadow and drives a stolen, flashy red BMW.

But not all is sad. Much of Matabb highlights local wit, something Palestinians have developed under the tough living conditions they experience.

"It's the 21st century," says Bashar the mechanic to Majeed who works at the NGO, asking him to leave Sameera's private life alone.

"Maybe according to the Western calendar," Majeed quips back.

The show would not be complete without the requisite portrayal of life under Israeli occupation, which is shown to affect many of the characters.

"It is my son's first day of work, he needs to pass," pleas one woman at a checkpoint in a scene in the show's premiere.

Later Majeed is late getting home to help his son with his chemistry assignment for school when he and Lena get stuck at a roadblock, waiting for the soldiers to let them pass.

Majari said the production team debated about how to deal with the Israelis, and ultimately decided to include a positive Jewish character, Shlomit, a lawyer who helps the Palestinians after one of them gets arrested by the military.

The show also tries to deal with unique Palestinian problems, such as the class conflict between the urban elites, the rural farmers and the impoverished refugees.

"Why do you need to go to the camps, go work in the Masyoun," said Abdullah tenderly to Sameera, referring to an upscale neighborhood of Ramallah.

Exasperated, Sameera tries to explain that the rich don't need her services.

While it may not produce the fanatic fan base known to shows like Noor, the popular Turkish soap opera around which viewers rearrange their schedules in order to never miss an episode, Matabb hopes to be popular during Ramadan nights, when Muslims, having fasted all day, enjoy digging into their food with the TV on and the family gathered around. (dpa)