Jordan's Queen Reunites Gaza Mom and Son

AMMAN — Queen Rania of Jordan intervened to reunite a Palestinian mother from Gaza with her son after 25 years apart, the queen's office said Tuesday.

She acted after the long separation of Mohammed Shamas and his mother, Wafa Abu Shehada, was detailed on "Al-Forssah," a talk show produced by Jordan television in partnership with a Lebanese network during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Shamas went on hoping he would get the chance to see his mother, and producers set up a video feed from Gaza earlier this week.

He spoke about the pain of being separated from his mother. Tears filled eyes in the audience when he mentioned that he had seen his mother only through low quality pictures exchanged over the Internet.

After hearing the story, Queen Rania, who is Palestinian-born, decided to arrange a family reunion and helped bring Abu Shehada to Jordan.

The queen then surprised the show's producers, the studio audience and Shamas when she arrived with the mother to reunite them. Both mother and son appeared speechless as they embraced during the live broadcast.

"As a mother, I can only imagine the pain of being separated from your children," Rania said.

"There is nothing that makes me happier than seeing such a moving reunion," she added.

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