- Title: SYRIA/GOLAN HEIGHTS: Syrian bride crosses into Israeli-occupied Golan to marry
- Date: 9th January 2011
- Summary: QUNEITRA, SYRIA (JANUARY 5, 2011) (REUTERS) QUNEITRA CROSSING POINT SAMAR SALMAN AL-KHAYAL, THE BRIDE, GETTING OUT OF CAR BRIDE'S CAR DECORATED WITH FLOWERS VARIOUS OF SAMAR'S RELATIVES SINGING
- Embargoed: 24th January 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Syrian Arab Republic
- Country: Syria
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA3OG70HS6SDLN8UG337168BNV0
- Story Text: After years of waiting and meeting abroad, 26-year-old Samar Salman Al-Khayal crossed into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Wednesday (January 5, 2011) to finally marry her fiancé.
Until that day, the Syrian bride had been unable to meet her groom, Nabih Farhat, in his hometown, because he lives in the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan.
Khayal was finally given permission by the Israeli authorities to make the journey, but her wedding day was tinged with sadness: the bride had to say goodbye to her family on the other side of the crossing.
She said she hoped she would one day be able to cross back again.
"No I hope I can cross, I insist. Even if I were turned back, I would still hope to be able to go back across," she said as she left.
Her mother also said she hoped she would be able to visit her daughter on the other side of the crossing.
"God willing, there will be peace as soon as possible so we are able to go and come back and we can all see each other."
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the strategic plateau in the 1980s - a move the United Nations Security Council declared as null. Syria has stuck to a long-standing demand that any peace talks with Israel must result in a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan.
During their long period of separation, Khayal would speak to her fiancé over the internet. Adeeb Farhat, a relative of the groom, said the only way the couple could meet was in neighbouring Jordan.
"Today is a happy day, we are here to welcome the bride that is coming from Syria. Her groom has been waiting for about four years. They love each other, but they could only meet each other in Jordan because until today, he was unable to bring her here," he said.
United Nations peace-keeping forces and Red Cross officials accompanied the couple and their friends and family across the UN buffer zone into Israeli-occupied territory.
"The occasion is a very special and exceptional one, it's the crossing of a bride towards Golan where her groom is waiting for her since three years. So our role in it is to facilitate the crossing," said Markus Uchi of the Red Cross.
On the Israel-occupied side of the crossing, the groom's family and friends sang and danced as they welcomed the bride. The couple plan to live in the village of Buqata in the Golan.
The Golan Heights is home to around 20,000 Israeli settlers, as well as an equal number of Syrians, living under occupation.
In 2000, Israel and Syria held their highest-level talks over a possible return of the Golan Heights and a peace agreement, but the negotiations collapsed. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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