During Obama’s visit to Israel/Palestine, the President spent a very little time in Palestine, going to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and meeting with Palestinian President Abbas in Ramallah.
Weather conditions did not allow President Obama to fly by helicopter to Bethlehem (the Khamsin winds were blowing) so he made his way on segregated roads through checkpoints cleared for him and got a glimpse of the Wall Israel has built in and around Bethlehem. President Obama met with Bethlehem Mayor Vera Baboun, an Orthodox Christian, who gave him a letter:
The letter, according to Baboun, is of special importance because it was from the birthplace of Jesus Christ."Bethlehem isn't living in peace despite the fact that the city was a source of peace to the whole world," the letter read, according to the mayor of Bethlehem.
She explained that the letter was enclosed with a gift to Obama from the Bethlehem city council -- a sculpture of the birth of Jesus on an olive branch.
Baboun told Ma'an that her letter tackled the issue of Israel's separation wall which surrounds Bethlehem, and Israeli restrictions on construction and development in the small city.