Freed prisoner weds after 17-year engagement

A prisoner released in a swap deal between Israel and Hamas has married his fiancee after a 17-year engagement. Thaher Ribhi Qabha was freed from an Israeli jail last week in the prisoner exchange deal but was sent into exile in the Gaza Strip. His bride was still waiting for him in his hometown of Bartaa al-Sharqiya, a village overshadowed by Israel's separation wall near Jenin in the northern West Bank. They were engaged before Thaher was detained in 1994. He was sentenced to six life terms, having been accused of involvement in a bombing operation with Hamas' armed wing the al-Qassam Brigades. On hearing the news of his release, the Fatah party and the village council arranged huge celebrations, setting up lights and plastering posters to celebrate Thaher's freedom and prepare for a wedding. Exiled to the Gaza Strip, Thaher couldn't attend the ceremony but a satellite feed was arranged and he delivered a speech aired on a huge screen in the village park. Village council member Tawfiq Qabha said the council had paid for the wedding with Fatah's help. He said the bride would join her groom in Gaza, traveling via Jordan and Egypt accompanied by her father and brothers. Fatah secretary Mohammad Saleh Qabha told Ma'an that Thaher's mother and his disabled brother had died while he was in prison in Israel.