Father bids bride goodbye as she crosses one part of Syria to another

Five Syrian brides crossed from the liberated city of Quneitra to Majdal Shams and Ein al-Tineh occupied towns following a collective wedding ceremony.

Families of the brides, friends and acquaintances took part Thursday in the festivities. With tears the brides joined their husbands in the occupied part of the Golan. They are Wesam al-Sabbagh (24) who was wed for her cousin Midad Hussein al-Sabagh from Majdal Shams town; Rana Dabous (23) for cousin Zayed Salim Dabous from Ein al-Tineh, Maysoun Munzir (24) for cousin Ali Mansour Munzir from Majdal Shams, Nibal Abu Saleh for her cousin Wesam Abu Saleh from Majdal Shams, and Lina Safaya (24) for her relative Nasser Fakhreddine from Majdal Shams.

In chanted slogans and statements, people who gathered at the meeting point of the occupied strip on both sides stressed that the occupation will come to an end and the settlements implanted by Israel in the occupied Golan Heights will be dismantled.

Fawaz Munzir, a father of one bride, condemned the measures pursued by the Israeli occupation government against the people of the Golan: "As a father, I feel sad knowing not when I shall meet my daughter again." He added that this is unprecedented situation which has been condemned by all UN humanitarian organizations and human rights organizations. He indicated that what is known as the "hill of shouting," witnessed three deaths because of the great emotions usually surrounding such meetings between members of split families in the two sides of the borders.

Since Rabia Munzir's marriage in 1987, when she became the first Syrian bride to cross into the occupied part of the Golan, so far 20 marriages have been recorded. Since its occupation of the Golan in 1967, Israel has expelled thousands of its people and destroyed 99% from Quneitra, the capital of the Golan, which was inhabited then by 50,000 people.