Rare snowstorm blankets Middle East in white

Occupied Jerusalem: A rare blizzard stormed through the Middle East yesterday, blanketing parts of the Holy Land in white, blocking roads and shutting schools across the region and sending excited children into empty streets for snowball fights.

Children in occupied Jerusalem played in the slushy streets, and the weather topped local newscasts, eclipsing an upcoming government report on the 2006 war in Lebanon that could pressure Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign.

Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian government, came to a standstill.

Occupied Jerusalem's Old City, including the Dome of the Rock, was coated in white.

Snow falls in occupied Jerusalem once or twice each winter, but temperatures rarely drop low enough for it to stick, and the city is not designed to deal with snowy weather. With schools shut, most public places closed down and many people stayed home from work.

Drop

Felix Bouhnik drove to occupied Jerusalem with his wife from the central city of Rishon Lezion, about an hour away, just to see the snow. Bouhnik said the snow made occupied Jerusalem look "very Swiss".

Bouhnik, 60, said he had not seen snow like this here - "never in Israel, only in Europe", he said.

The Israeli weather service said up to 20 centimeters of snow had fallen so far in occupied Jerusalem. Forecasters said temperatures were expected to drop, and the snow would continue through this morning.

Heavy snow also was reported in the Golan Heights and the northern Israeli town of Safed, and throughout the West Bank.

First time

In Ramallah, residents were surprised to see snow when they woke up. For some, it was their first time. "I'm originally from Gaza where snow never falls," said Bothaina Smairi, 28, who was out in the snow taking pictures.

"The white snow is covering the old world and I feel like I am in a new world where everything is white, clean, and beautiful," she said.

In Amman, children sledded on inflatable tubes and plastic bowls as snow plows tried to open streets clogged with one foot of snow.

Snow covered most mountain villages and blocked roads in Lebanon as strong winds and heavy rains lashed at coastal areas. The storm disrupted power supplies in most Lebanese towns and villages.

In Syria, temperatures dipped below freezing and snow blanketed the hills overlooking Damascus. High winds of 70 kilometers per hour forced the closure of the ports of Tartous and Lattakia.