Bashir Awad was elated last Thursday. After months of preparations, his son Munir’s wedding ceremony took place in his West Bank village of Awarta, near Nablus.
As customary amongst the villagers, the wedding took place in a garden on the adjacent street. The 2,500-guest event was halted later when a Border Guard force securing Jewish worshippers arrived on the scene.
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At the wedding, traditional songs of praise for the groom were sounded from the speakers. Bashir wandered amongst the guests near the circle that enclosed his son and shook people’s hands. He thanked the celebrators for the honor they gave him and his family.
The time was 11:30 pm and the wedding was at its final stages, but then two Border Guard jeeps arrived. The soldiers announced to the guests that they were obstructing traffic in the street and that they had two minutes to leave the premises. Later, three tear gas grenades were thrown in their direction.
“Some of the guests left the scene but the majority entered the house in order to allow the two jeeps to pass. No rocks were thrown at them,” said Bashir Awad to Ynet.
“If until that point the guests smelled the flowers and perfume that we scattered at the wedding, from that moment on, they were forced to feel the tear gas.”
According to him, the officers later threw two stun grenades at the house’s garden in order to leave their “business cards” for those present.
“By chance, there were no injuries,” said Bashir, angrily. “In my opinion, they arrived at the street in order to secure the arrival of Jewish worshippers to the graves located in the village.
“One grave for someone named Itamar and another one whose name I don’t know; but what’s surprising, is that the graves are at the other side of the village and are not near our house,” he said.
The Border Guard stated in response that the force acted in accordance with the procedures for securing worshippers in the area.
“At a certain point, people who participated in the event…threw rocks at the force. Only after receiving military approval did the officers fire tear gas and throw stun grenades in order to deal with the obstructers and rock throwers,” said a Border Guard official.
A Civil Administration official said that the morning after the incident, a complaint was registered by the Palestinians regarding the damage done to their property.
Efrat Weiss contributed to this report
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