RAMALLAH: The head of Palestinian Islamic courts on Sunday told judges not to grant divorces over Ramadan, fearing the month-long fast could spark rash words that would be regretted later.
Judge Mahmud Habash said he based his ruling on "the experience of previous years" when he found that the dawn-to-dusk fast and ban on cigarettes, which began on Saturday, tended to lead to frayed tempers and sharp tongues.
"Some, because they have not eaten and not smoked, create problems" in their marriages, he said in a statement, and they can make "quick and ill-considered decisions".
According to the Palestinian Authority, 50,000 weddings were celebrated in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 2015, but more than 8,000 divorces were also registered.
Endemic unemployment and poverty are said to be major contributing factors.
There is no civil marriage or divorce in the Palestinian territories, where only religious courts have those powers.
-
Martha Stewart on surviving rigorous times amid upcoming memoir release -
18-month old on life-saving medication returned to ICE detention -
Cardi B says THIS about Bad Bunny's Grammy statement -
Chicago child, 8, dead after 'months of abuse, starvation', two arrested -
Funeral home owner sentenced to 40 years for selling corpses, faking ashes -
Australia’s Liberal-National coalition reunites after brief split over hate laws -
Savannah Guthrie addresses ransom demands made by her mother Nancy's kidnappers -
Washington Post CEO William Lewis resigns after sweeping layoffs