United Arab Emirates funds mass wedding of Palestinians injured in Gaza wars
Led by Jalila Dahlan, the wife of Mohammad Dahlan, a former senior Fatah official, the project aims at helping 50 handicapped Gazans start their life as couples.
By MAAYAN GROISMANUpdated: APRIL 12, 2016 16:31A camel is seen as Palestinian girls accompany grooms separate from the brides during a mass wedding for 150 couples, Gaza(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Palestinian Center for Humanitarian Communication launched a new project Monday aimed at conducting a mass wedding of handicapped Palestinians injured during the recent wars in Gaza.The organization called on eligible people to send requests to join the project, which was founded by the United Arab Emirates Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan. Led by Jalila Dahlan, the wife of Mohammad Dahlan, a former senior Fatah official, the project aims at helping 50 handicapped Gazans start their life as couples.Only Gazans who were injured during one of the three recent wars in Gaza (in 2008, 2012 and 2014), who are employed at the Palestinian Authority and whose age is no less than 25 years-old are eligible to apply to the project.The pivotal role performed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in this project demonstrates the close relationship between Mohammad Dahlan and the Gulf State. After he was expelled from Fatah in June 2011, because of repeated claims by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that he had murdered Yasser Arafat, Dahlan moved to the UAE and currently resides there.Nowadays, the Palestinian politician is busy building a new political base that will enable him to replace Abbas in the future. He does so mainly by improving relations with central political figures in the Gulf States such as Abu Dabi's Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Zayed, who employs Dahlan as his security advisor.