Drivers traveling on the roads north of Jerusalem Thursday night may have noticed a multitude of spotlights in the air. The spotlights were not coming from a major movie premier, nor were they searching for enemy aircraft; instead, they emanated from an extravagant Palestinian Arab wedding.
The wedding was that of Ahmad Natsheh, the son of Palestinian Arab businessman Tareq Natsheh. Natsheh is the founder and CEO of Al-Huda Petroleum Group, which operates a chain of gas stations, convenience stores, and coffee shops in Judea and Samaria. It was held on a 9.5-acre plot on the outskirts of the town of Beit Ur al-Tahta near Ramallah, next to Israeli Route 443, which runs from Jerusalem to central Israel.
While the financial condition of the Arabs in the Palestinian Authority is often portrayed as destitute at best, footage from the party shows no hint of such. The gas tycoon spared no expense for his son's wedding.
Videos from the event, dubbed by locals as "the biggest wedding in Palestinian history," show massive amounts of food, including an endless line of large pots simmering with lamb, dozens of shawarma spits, and colossal fruit platters.
Other videos show the masses being entertained by a line-up of musicians and singers, including Jordanian singer Omar Al-Abdallat, and pyrotechnics. In the meantime, their children were entertained in a separate children's area.
The mother of the groom was not ignored either; one video shows her donning gold jewelry and a golden headdress.
The Arab language Khaberni news website reported that 60,000 guests were in attendance at the event. According to the report, 450 sheep were slaughtered for the event, and one and a half tons of shawarma was served, along with six tons of fruit and a ton of confections.
The report appraises the cost of the event at $1.85 million.