Last week:
In a rare gesture for a U.S. secretary of state - but a staple of U.S. political campaigns - Kerry dropped by the Samer Restaurant in the Palestinian city of Ramallah to enjoy typical Middle Eastern fare.
"Man that is good," Kerry said after biting into his shawarma, a sandwich filled with slivers of meat roasted on a rotating spit, typically wrapped in pita bread and garnished with tomatoes, tahini sauce, hummus and pickled turnips.
Saturday:
The head of the village council of Husan, Hasan Hamamrah, said 20 people, including children, were taken to a hospital in Beit Jala as a result of food poisoning after eating shawarma in a restaurant in the village.