March 19, 2013

Why Obama Should Visit Arafat's Grave

Daoud Kuttab, Al Monitor

AP Photo

One of the reasons given for why the American president might want to skip Ramallah is the fact that if he visits the secured and natural offices of the Palestinian president he will have a political difficulty. Pundits (mostly western) are claiming that if Obama passes by the grave of Yasser Arafat which is centrally located within the Muqata’a presidential compound that the American leader will have a difficult choice. Not laying a wreath will be seen as an insult to Palestinians while doing so would be seen in negative terms by some Israelis. This is precisely the political correctness that has made a mockery of the so called claims that the US is an honest broker when it comes to the Middle East conflict.

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TAGGED: Ramallah, Palestine, Israel, Middle East, Yasser Arafat, Barack Obama

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