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400 Druze cross into Syria through Golan for annual pilgrimage
By The Associated Press
Tags: Syria, Golan Heights

About 400 Druze clergymen living in the Golan Heights crossed into Syria on Thursday for an annual pilgrimage.

The clerics, in traditional uniforms of white turbans, black robes and bushy mustaches, walked across a 300-meter buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian checkpoints at the Quneitra border crossing.

For the first time, about a dozen women joined them to visit relatives in Syria.
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"The group was smaller than planned, because Israel turned down
applications from other pilgrims," said Medhat Saleh, head of Golan affairs in the Syrian Cabinet. He did not specify how many other Druze were denied entry, or for what reason.

More than 20,000 Arabs who follow the minority Druze sect, an offshoot of
Islam, live in the Golan, along with 15,000 Israeli settlers. Israel seized the strategic strip from Syria during the 1967 Six Day War.

Since 1988, Israel has allowed Druze residents to make the pilgrimage to the Habil shrine in the Syrian countryside at Zabadani, 28 miles (45 kilometers) west of the capital, Damascus.

An elderly woman among those who crossed Thursday said she hadn't been to
Syria for more than 40 years.

"I'm overjoyed to be here. I hope that the Golan returns to Syria," said Zeina Sabra Youssef, 80.

In 2000, Israel offered to turn over most of the Golan Heights, but talks
later broke down over the extent of the withdrawal.

Israel wanted to keep a small coastal strip around the Sea of Galilee to
ensure its control of the lake's vital water supplies - a demand Syria
rejected.

Syria and Israel recently held four rounds of indirect peace negotiations
under Turkey's sponsorship.The two countries have had no diplomatic relations since Israel's independence in 1948.

Related articles:
  • Lebanese Druze leader calls on U.S. to impose sanctions on Syria
  • President gets first-ever Druze military aide
  • Report: Syria test fires series of long-range missiles
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