A worker at a factory in Kfar Saba near Tel Aviv sews US flags that were ordered ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit to Israel.


AFP/New York


US President Barack Obama met Arab American leaders who urged him to deliver a message of hope to the Palestinian people on his Middle East trip this month, even though he has made clear he will not use the visit to launch a new Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative.
Obama hosted about 10 leaders at the White House just four days after holding talks with representatives of major Jewish organisations in preparation for his travels to Israel, the occupied West Bank and neighbouring Jordan.
The White House has yet to officially announce the dates for the trip, but Israeli news media have reported that Obama will start in Israel on March 20.
Obama met the group on Monday to seek input for his meetings in the region. He is expected to hold separate talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah.
“He underscored that the trip is an opportunity for him to demonstrate the United States’ commitment to the Palestinian people — in the West Bank and Gaza —  and to partnering with the Palestinian Authority as it continues building institutions that will be necessary to bring about a truly independent Palestinian state,” a White House official said.
Obama also told them he would “reiterate America’s commitment to Israel’s security,” the official said.
Many Palestinians have been disappointed by Obama’s failure to do more to advance a peace deal, despite having declared Middle East diplomacy a high priority when he took office.
The Obama administration has opposed recent Palestinian statehood bids at the United Nations while at the same criticising Israeli settlement expansion on occupied land.
Obama told Jewish leaders last week he would not be carrying a new peace plan when the arrives in the region, though he did not rule out a diplomatic push at a later date.
“We are pleased to have shared with President Obama our recommendations and vital messages that he should convey to the Palestinian people,” Arab American groups said in a joint statement.
“The United States, through sustained, balanced, constructive engagement, can facilitate a peaceful, lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict —  a resolution that is essential to long-term security in the Middle East.”
The statement was from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, American Task Force for Palestine, American Federation of Ramallah Palestine and Arab American Institute.

Bethlehem on  the itinerary
US President Barack Obama will visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where Christians believe Jesus was born, when he visits the region next week, Palestinian sources said.
The Palestinian Authority was officially informed by US authorities that Obama would travel to Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to visit the site where Christians believe Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable, the sources said.
Obama begins a three-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on March 20, in the first official announcement of the much-anticipated visit — his first as president. On June 29 the UN cultural body Unesco overrode Israeli objections to urgently grant world heritage status to the Church of the Nativity.
Unesco’s 13-6 secret vote to add the Church of the Nativity and its pilgrimage route to the list was received with a round of applause and a celebratory fist pump by the beaming head of the Palestinian delegation, and deep disappointment from Israeli ally Washington.