Obama helps U.S. woman fight Palestinian husband for their daughters

An American woman fighting to get back four daughters living in the West Bank with their Palestinian father has gotten unusually high-powered help - from Barack Obama.

The U.S. presidential hopeful raised the case of the Chicago-area woman in his meeting with Palestinian leaders last week, and won a promise from Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to look into the matter.

And that's how the private battle between Yasser and Colleen Barghouti, which spans continents and cultures, took a public turn. In separate interviews, the two offered conflicting explanations of what brought the family to Barghouti's home village of Kobar in June 2007.

It's a village of several thousand people 10 minutes from the city of Ramallah, where Obama met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Fayyad last week.

The girls - 11-year-old Emily, 8-year-old Hannah, 6-year-old Amanda and 5-year-old Sarah - were watching a Jennifer Aniston movie and their aunt was cooking lunch when the U.S. officials arrived for a 70-minute inspection.

Emily told the visitors she misses her mother and wants her parents reunited. "We want to be one family, no matter where we live," she said.

Barghouti said his wife is welcome in the West Bank, but acknowledged he has filed for divorce.

Mrs. Barghouti said she won't return to the West Bank, alleging that during her stay her husband was abusive and once laid two guns on a table, accompanied by a threat to kill her.

Barghouti said he owns no guns and denies threatening his wife. Haaretz