Abbas sponsors mass wedding in Gaza city

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sponsored and financed a mass wedding of 100 Gaza couples Tuesday in Gaza city, Xinhua reported.

The couples' relatives, friends, activists and leaders of Abbas Fatah party joined the mass wedding ceremony held in a Gaza seaside resort, as they sang national songs and waved Fatah yellow flags.

In the summer of 2007, Hamas had violently seized control of the coastal enclave following weeks of infighting with Abbas security forces.

The 50 brides wore traditional dresses and the 50 grooms wore their black suites. They all stood on a stage holding posters of Abbas and late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died November 2004.

Tayesser al-Burdeini, chairman of the highest leading committee of Fatah Party in the Gaza Strip, said the mass wedding was financed and sponsored by President Abbas.

"The aim of the wedding is to bring happiness to the brides, grooms, to their families and to the people who suffer from hard living conditions," said al-Burdeini.