Free Republic

Tasting peace - Palestinians visit new shopping mall By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Tugging impatiently at his mother's shirt, 5-year-old Rami Tubasi had only one thing on his mind: a few more laps around the go-cart track. Sawsan Tubasi, 30, was happy to hand over two shekels to give her son another ride. With its glossy new supermarket, food court, amusement arcades and entertainment center, the West Bank's first American-style shopping mall is a magnet for weary Palestinians yearning for a normal life after years of violence. "We don't have anything like this," Sawsan Tubasi said Saturday. "It's safe, convenient, and...

IDF expands humanitarian officers program By JOEL LEYDEN It's 2 p.m. at the Kalandia checkpost on a boiling summer's day. A long, crowded line of Palestinians wait to enter Ramallah. Young Israeli combat soldiers are positioned in front of them, standing behind grey concrete barriers and above on a dusty hilltop sweating inside guard towers. The 18-year-old troops appear ready for anything. They have been trained for terrorism and war and keep a watchful eye out for the unusual. It could be a car with a sniper, a young boy holding a package or a women suicide bomber just waiting...