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Mixed Reactions in Bethlehem To President Obama's Visit

Daoud Kuttab reports on US President Barack Obama’s visit to Bethlehem, and the people's mixed reaction.
U.S. President Barack Obama is seen next to Bethlehem Mayor Vera Baboun (L) and children at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem March 22, 2013.   REUTERS/Jason Reed   (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR3FBRR

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — The mayor of Bethlehem, Vera Baboun, was sure that the khamsin sand storm that hit the area on Friday was divine.

Speaking to Al-Monitor from her Bethlehem home, the mayor said that the sudden weather change was a divine act, forcing the US president to travel by car into Bethlehem rather than by helicopter. Why is this important, she asked rhetorically? By driving, Obama would have no choice but to see the wall surrounding the city. It was as if, she said, “God willed that Mr. Obama enter from the gate of reality, rather than from the sky of no reality.”

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