Sarah Palin, the US former vice presidential candidate, yesterday appeared to make an aborted trip to Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, when her vehicle approached an Israeli checkpoint before turning back.
Mrs Palin was visiting Israel on her way back from India as she attempts to bolster her thin foreign policy experience amid speculation that she could run for the American presidency in 2012. But the private three-day visit, deliberately conducted out of the media glare, was briefly the subject of intrigue when a car carrying Mrs Palin, her husband Todd and Israeli guides, stopped at an Israeli checkpoint at the entrance to the West Bank town before turning round.
Photographers at the scene said that no one got out of the car before it headed back in the direction of Jerusalem, a 20-minute drive away, via a nearby monastery.
It remains unclear why they drove away, or indeed whether Mrs Palin had actually intended to visit Bethlehem, which is under Palestinian control. Israelis need permission to enter Palestinian territory. The Israeli military authority that coordinates West Bank access for foreign dignitaries said that it had received no request from Mrs Palin's team about a visit to Bethlehem.
Of course, it could have been that she never intended to enter the city as her scheduling time did not account for that.
Maybe she did not have enough security or Danon forgot to coordinate the visit with the authorities who are in charge of VIPs.
But we're now left with a mystery.
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1 comment:
There is no mystery. In an interview upon her arrival in Israel, she said she was disappointed that she wouldn't be able to visit Bethlehem this visit.
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