LEBANON: PALESTINIAN COUPLE WED AT BORDER

(24 Jul 2000) Arabic/Nat XFA A Palestinian couple wed at the Fatima Gate border between Lebanon and Israel on Sunday. They said they wanted to wed as close as they could to their occupied land. Unfortunately well-wishers living in Israel were not allowed to cross the border for the ceremony. Relatives of the happy couple tried their best to convince Israeli border patrol soldiers to approach the fence for the wedding. But to no avail. Instead they had to find a hillside from which to watch the one-hour ceremony. Yasser Kaddoura, 29, and Lina Agha, 25, wearing white and escorted by drum-beating and rice-throwing relatives, arrived at the Fatima gate before midday. Kaddoura, who will return with Agha to the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh, told reporters that he and his bride wanted to marry as close to home as possible. Kaddoura and Agha waved to the onlookers. A speaker at the wedding made references to the Middle East peace process at the ceremony, saying the Palestinians should not back down on demands for land. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) "We, the Palestinians who were born outside our homeland, are holding on to our land, we are holding on to each and every grain of our soil, we are holding on to Jerusalem despite all the bargains made to sell it, we are holding on to the water, we are holding on to Palestine from the sea to the river." SUPER CAPTION: Wedding organiser Since Israel withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon on May 24, there have been frequent incidents along the border, especially near the Fatima gate, with Lebanese and Palestinian demonstrators taunting Israeli soldiers and pelting them with stones. But on Sunday, for an hour at least, the wedding replaced the normal tension with good will and happiness. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...