Star-crossed lovers quit West Bank

She is a 26-year-old Jewish Israeli. Her name is Jasmine Avissar. He is a 27-year-old Palestinian Muslim, Osama Zaatar. Jasmine and Osama's is a love story, and it tells you so much about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. When they worked at the same place in Jerusalem, and three years ago they got married.

First they tried to live in Israel, but the Israeli authorities would not allow Osama to join his wife there. Then they tried living in the occupied West Bank, but some Palestinians made life difficult for them. Now they've given up and are moving to Europe.

"We ran out of choices of finding any solution to live in either Israel or Palestine," says Jasmine as she packs her bags. "We were naive and thought we could win this fight but we can't. So we have to go abroad and start a new life."

Jasmine already has permission to go. Osama hopes to follow her soon. Stone walls hold earth terraces onto the hillsides, olive trees hundreds of years old are dotted across the landscape. "I feel like a stranger here," says Osama.

Even now though they are not quite free. Osama cannot go through the checkpoint with Jasmine. They don't know when he will be able to join her in Europe. They are still a couple caught in the middle of the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

BBC