Source: AP, 19-09-2007
QUNEITRA, Golan Heights: A misty-eyed bride waved goodbye to the family she was leaving behind Wednesday, as she stared across the sun-scorched pavement toward her husband and new life in Syria.
Then Waed Munzer, 26, a Druse from the village of Ein Qeinya in the "Israel"-controlled Golan Heights, walked across the Quneitra border crossing to marry her cousin in a rare moment when the heavily guarded "Israeli"-Syrian border was opened.
Reflecting the animosity between the two countries - the bride is not allowed to go back to "Israel".
Tensions have increased this month after reports of an "Israeli" airstrike in northern Syria. Foreign media say the "Israeli" target was either arms meant for Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon or a joint Syrian-North Korean nuclear project. Syria has denied both while acknowledging the strike, but "Israel" has refused to comment.
"I`m happy and I`m sad," said the camera-shy Munzer in her wedding finery, as her brother ushered her toward the Syrian border. "There`ll be no return."
She and the few family members who accompanied her joined other relatives and friends in the U.N. supervised demilitarized zone between the two countries for an hourlong celebration and farewell. The wedding is scheduled for Friday in Syria.
The Druze religion is an offshoot of Islam that keeps its tenants of faith secret. "Israel`s" 1967 capture of the Golan split the Druze community between Syria and "Israel", dividing families and friends. Other Druze live in nearby Lebanon.
The husband, Majd Munzer, 30, who comes from the village of Raha in southern Syria, said he met his bride at a wedding he attended last October at a U.N-supervised demilitarized zone on the border. He proposed to her that same day.
Since then, she has been calling him on the phone. He, however, cannot call her.
In 1993, "Israel" opened a one-way telephone with Syria in the Golan, where some 20,000 Druse live. Syrians can communicate with relatives across the border only with loudhailers in an area known as the "shouting valley."
The border passage is also one way. Waed Munzer said she had to sign a document saying she would not return to "Israel", ever.
"She`ll only be able to return if there`s peace," said her brother. "Even then, she`ll only be a visitor."
16 members of the bride`s family joined the celebration on the pavement between the borders, a rare opportunity see some family and friends for the first time in years.
The wedding-farewell ceremonies take place about once a year at the border. An award-winning 2004 "Israeli" movie, "The Syrian Bride," chronicled the conflicting emotions involved.
"Israel" annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, but the move has won no international recognition. Syria demands return of the territory.
The crisis over the reported airstrike did not jeopardize the wedding, said Paul Conneally, deputy head of the delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross. "This represents a positive and humanitarian event," he said. The Red Cross has orchestrated more than 150 cross-border weddings since 1983.