A Palestinian judge has banned divorces during the month of Ramadan as people may make hasty decisions "because they have not eaten and not smoked".
Mahmoud al-Habbash, head of the Palestinian Islamic sharia court system, said people who deprive themselves of food and cigarettes during daylight hours may "create problems" in their relationship and then make "quick and ill-considered decisions".
To avoid such decisions, judges will only consider and rule on divorce applications made after the month of fasting is over, al-Jazeera reports.
He said his order was based on "the experience of previous years".
In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, but also in Israel and Lebanon, only religious courts have the power to pronounce on marriages and divorces.
More than 50,000 weddings were celebrated in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 2015, but over 8,000 divorces were also registered, according to the Palestinian Authority.
Millions of Muslims across the globe are fasting for Ramadan, one of the five pillars of Islam.
During the month, many Muslims will fast from sunrise to sunset, forgoing food and water, smoking and sex during daylight.
It will end with the Eid al-Fitr festival which marks the end of Ramadan each year, a celebration which can last up to three days.
