Jerusalem - US presidential candidate Barack Obama said
Wednesday Jerusalem should not be 'sliced up,' making a 30-hour visit
to Israel during which he voiced strong support for the Jewish state,
but also took pains to travel to the West Bank.
Speaking in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, the Democratic
contender called himself a 'friend of Israel', said rocket attacks
from the Gaza Strip were 'intolerable' and rejected talks with Hamas,
which he said 'uses terror as a weapon' and does not recognize
Israel's right to exist.
Obama also spoke out against a nuclear Iran, which he called a
'grave threat' and warned could spark a nuclear arms race in the
Middle East.
Throughout the day, he highlighted his 'unshakable' and 'abiding
commitment' to Israel's security, a message aimed as much at Jewish
voters at home as at his Israeli hosts.
'We stand with he people of Sderot and of Israel,' Obama told a
joint news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in
the rocket-stricken town just miles from the Gaza Strip.
'America must always stand up for Israel's rights to defend
itself.
'In terms of knowing my commitments, you don't just have to look
at my words, look at my deeds,' he said. In the US Senate, 'vote
after vote I've demonstrated my support for Israel.'
Asked why he had changed his remark of last month, in which he
said Jerusalem should remain the undivided capital of Israel, from
which he later backtracked, Obama said:
'I didn't change my statement. I continue to say that Jerusalem
will continue to be the capital of Israel. It's important that we
don't slice it in half.'
But leaving room open for its also becoming the capital of a
future Palestinian state, he added Jerusalem was a 'final-status
issue' to be dealt with directly between Israel and the Palestinians
in their negotiations on a two-state solution.
And he called for supporting moderate Palestinian leaders 'who
share this vision, including the Palestinian leaders I met today.'
He also reiterated that as president he would engage with Iran,
arguing his 'carrot and stick' policy would put the US in a stronger
position to mobilize international support behind tough moves if Iran
rejected such overtures.
Israelis, who regard Iran as an 'existential threat', have been
wary of that element of Obama's platform and, according to a recent
opinion poll, many seem to favour Republican candidate John McCain.
Palestinians for their part angrily remember Obama's 'undivided'
Jerusalem remark. When asked, many express mainly apathy to the US
presidential race, charging that any US president would show 'bias'
toward Israel and would have to accommodate the Jewish vote.
But they nevertheless show a clear preference for Obama to McCain,
whom they regard as someone who would continue the 'extreme-hawkish,
anti-Arab' policies of President George W Bush.
Although some were unhappy about the tight schedule, Palestinians
did express contentment that Obama, unlike McCain during his visit in
March, took time to visit the West Bank.
Obama allocated one hour of his 15-hour work day to meet
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of
Ramallah.
He had earlier begun his packed day discussing Iran with Israeli
Defence Minister Ehud Barak over breakfast, sounding out opposition
leader Benjamin Netanyahu, touring Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust
memorial museum and meeting Israeli President Shimon Peres.
He then made the short journey to Ramallah, just nort of
Jerusalem, before joining Livni on a helicopter tour to Sderot,
followed by dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and a
visit to Jerusalem's Western Wall, a remnant of the Jewish Biblical
Temple sacred to Jews.
'Excellent' was the single word Obama used to describe his one-
hour talk with Abbas, as he emerged from the parley in Ramallah which
left no time for joint statements to the media.
Saeb Erekat, a senior official in Abbas' Fatah party, said the
Palestinian president briefed Obama about the peace process and
explained the difficulties and obstacles created by Israel's
construction of settlement blocks, its security barrier and military
arrest raids in the West Bank.
Obama said he would be a 'constructive partner in peace' between
Israelis and Palestinians if elected and would 'not waste a minute'
because time is of the essence, he said.
'We appreciate very much that Senator Obama is committed to
working with us in pursuing a two-state solution and he shared the
hopes for peace before the end of the year,' Erekat said.
Asked about the short time Obama spent with the Palestinians, he
said 'it is not the time that counts, but the substance. He left us
feeling very well, reassuring us about his commitment to peace.'
Obama's visit comes a day after an attack in which a Palestinian
construction worker ploughed a bulldozer into traffic in the city
centre, injuring at least 16 people.
The attack took place yards from his Jerusalem King David
Hotel and mirrored a similar incident just three weeks ago - an
incident in which three Israelis were killed.
'There are no excuses,' Obama said, condemning the attack on
landing in Tel Aviv from Amman late Tuesday.
USA
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