Palestinians in Bethlehem Vandalize Obama Poster with Swastikas and Throw Shoes to Protest His Visit

Following are excerpts from a report on a demonstration in Bethlehem against US President Obama’s planned March 20 visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. The report was posted on the Internet on March 18.

Reporter: There are ongoing protests against U.S. President Obama’s visit to Palestine, which he has claimed is for touristic purposes, and which, moreover, does not bring any new plan for peace in the region.

Protestor: We have come here to say to Obama that we don’t need 3G technology in Palestine. What we need is a state, we need the prisoners to return to their homes, we need to put an end to the settlements, and we need the Palestinian refugees to return, in accordance with U.N. Resolution 194 and 242.

These [posters] represent personal, business interests. They want to make a profit by bringing 3G technology here. It’s not the Palestinian citizens who will profit from it.

Reporter: On Monday afternoon, angry protestors expressed their opposition to the visit, by ripping up and burning images of Obama near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Protestor: Through our protest, we are saying that Obama has no place among us. Obama implements the Israeli occupation policy of killing, of destroying, of Judaizing the settlements, of opposing a Palestinian state, and of opposing the release of the prisoners.

President Obama will not be welcomed with roses and a red carpet. We will greet him with shoes and with black banners of grief. He will be greeted by the children of the martyrs, by those who have been banished, and by the prisoners. That way, we will be saying that U.S. policy has no place in our hearts.

Reporter: The demonstrators said that Palestine would welcome Obama if his visit were to include real measures that would put an end to the suffering of the prisoners and the refugees, and would address other issues at the heart of the struggle against the occupation.

Protestor: We wanted to send President Obama a message that the Palestinian people is not in need of pilgrims. What it needs is a savior who will relieve it of the pain inflicted upon us daily by the Israeli occupation, which affects all aspects of the Palestinian people’s lives.

The Palestinian people will not welcome Obama. It sends the message that he is not welcome here because his visit is intended to strengthen the extreme right government in Israel.

Old woman: I’d like to tell him not to come here. He is a collaborator of Israel. He is Netanyahu’s greatest collaborator.

Reporter: The area is undergoing stringent security measures, with U.S. helicopters circling above Bethlehem and Ramallah, and then landing in the government compound in Ramallah.

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