Discriminated against on all sides: When Rita and Taher fall in love in Palestine…Part 2
Posted by: adonis49 on: April 26, 2012
Discriminated against on all sides: When Rita and Taher fall in love in Palestine
In the previous post I stated: “How could you figure out this paradox: An Arab State (probably Qatar) invited two Jewish Israeli swimmers to participate in a sport event, and denied a Palestinian scholar to attend a scientific conference on the ground that his passport is Israeli?
In 1948, only about 150,000 Palestinians steadfastly remained and held on their land while Israel was pursuing its policy of ”transferring” all Palestinians from Palestine, by all means available, including genocide and erasing entire villages…
Those 150,000 Palestinians living within the State of Israel suffered all kinds of discrimination, humiliations and indignities and they are currently around 1.5 million or 20% of Israel total population”.
This posts describes the problems and detour of falling in love in Palestine.
Taher Al Musalmani (24) lives in Israel, in the town of Nazareth, and work with a Palestinian TV channel.
Rita (26) lives in Gaza and work as correspondent to a satellite chain. Their paths met as they tried to work out ways to do joint programs and the calls got frequent and friendship was established, long distance fashion.
Rita and Taher decided to meet at Cherm el Cheikh (the Sinai peninsula in Egypt) last June. Taher has an Israeli passport and made it fine to destination, but Rita could not pass the Rafah border check-point (Gaza side).
Taher refused to despair: He managed to link with a caravan of the Sinai bedouins that got him to Rafah in Gaza, then through one of the many underground tunnels that are frequently bombed by Israel to prevent livestock, oil, and arms from entering Gaza via Egypt…A trip that lasted 26 hours one way since he had no visa from Egypt…
Rita could not believe her eyes as Taher stepped into her house and recounted the trip hassles of his journey. Rita has divorced from a failed marriage and was not contemplating to remarry, not any time soon. The persistence of Taher changed her heart, mind and determination
Rita’s family needed three entire days of discussion and pondering before it agreed on the engagement ceremony. Taher has the engagement papers and he has to return to Nazareth. How?
Back to the tunnel and out to Taba (Egypt), then to Eilat (Israel on the Red Sea) and off to Tel Aviv. A strong police force was waiting for Taher on the airport of Tel Aviv and thrown into prison. Israel was searching for Taher on the premises that he might have links with the “enemy”.
Worse, Taher entered Gaza, a forbidden occupied territory.
Taher detention lengthened for weeks, with dozen of lie detector sessions, and then transferred to the “bird-cage” prison where Palestinians are formed to become spies to Israel. In case the Palestinian refuses to become an Israeli informant his name is disseminated so that other Palestinian factions assassinate him on the ground of a potential informer…
Three weeks later, Taher is set free to residential confinement for another 6 months.
Rita and Taher plan to marry in Egypt and settle in Ramallah (the Capital of the Palestinian Authority). Apparently, the Palestinian Authority is going to give this couple the hell of their life before they get together, if they do in Ramallah.
In any case, the world is vast and this couple intend to settle wherever they are accepted.
Note: The story is taken from a piece by Samia Al Zubaidi and published in the daily Al Hayat, London
Adonis Diaries 
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