MIDDLE EAST 
Obama pledges to work on Mid East peace
Wednesday, 23 July, 2008
US presidential contender Barack Obama has arrived in Israel for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, pledging to work for peace if he takes office but warning that there are no quick solutions.
In an airport statement, Obama condemned an attack a few hours earlier by a Palestinian tractor driver who ran amok on a Jerusalem street, smashing into a bus, overturning a car and seriously injuring an Israeli before being shot dead by a civilian and a police officer.
"It's just one more reminder why we have to work diligently, urgently and in a unified way to defeat terrorism," Obama said.
"There are no excuses."
The attack took place near the historic King David Hotel, where Obama is staying during his visit.
In Jordan before flying to Israel, Obama said he would plunge into Mideast peacemaking, where efforts have failed for decades, warning there were no quick solutions.
He cautioned it is "unrealistic to expect that a US president alone can suddenly snap his fingers and bring about peace in this region".
Obama's long day of meetings and events in Israel will be punctuated by a short trip to the West Bank for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Democratic senator, on a high-risk tour to prove his diplomatic and commander-in-chief credentials, touched down in Tel Aviv late Tuesday for a packed presidential-style schedule after visiting Iraq and Jordan.
But regional tensions immediately intruded, as a Palestinian man was shot dead after launching a bulldozer rampage which wounded at least 16 people near Jerusalem's King David Hotel where Obama was to stay.
Obama condemned the attack, saying it was a reminder of what Israelis have to "courageously live with on a daily basis for far too long," and promised to vigorously join the search for Middle East peace if he is elected in November.
The Illinois Senator, who is being advised by ex-president Bill Clinton's former Middle East envoy Dennis Ross, backed the two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But a day before meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders, he warned that entrenched positions, divisions among Palestinians and turbulent Israeli politics meant progress could be slow.
"It is a very difficult process. There is a lot of history that exists between those two people. That history is not going to vanish overnight.
"So I think it's unrealistic to expect that a US president alone can suddenly snap his fingers and bring about peace in this region."
While Obama is likely to be greeted as a hero in Europe, there remain questions in the Middle East about his potential policies.
His view that Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of Israel sparked fury among Palestinians, who saw it as pre-judging final status talks, while his offer to talk to Iran is likely to face scrutiny in Israel.
Obama's Israel schedule has more in common with a presidential trip than that of a mere candidate.
He will meet Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, opposition Likud party chief Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak, and then hold talks with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
The Obama camp again sought to clarify his position on Jerusalem after his comments to the US Jewish lobby in June, which aides later admitted were poorly worded.
"He has repeatedly said that Jerusalem is a final status issue to be negotiated by the parties, that Jerusalem will remain Israel's capital, but it should not again be divided by barbed wire and checkpoints," said one advisor.
From Israel, Obama will head to Germany for the symbolic centrepiece of his campaign swing, a major open-air speech in Berlin on US transatlantic relations.
The tour, which also involves stops in France and Britain, is seen as an attempt to prove Obama's credentials as a potential US commander-in-chief -- one of the few areas in opinion polls where he trails McCain.
Source: AP
In an airport statement, Obama condemned an attack a few hours earlier by a Palestinian tractor driver who ran amok on a Jerusalem street, smashing into a bus, overturning a car and seriously injuring an Israeli before being shot dead by a civilian and a police officer.
"It's just one more reminder why we have to work diligently, urgently and in a unified way to defeat terrorism," Obama said.
"There are no excuses."
The attack took place near the historic King David Hotel, where Obama is staying during his visit.
In Jordan before flying to Israel, Obama said he would plunge into Mideast peacemaking, where efforts have failed for decades, warning there were no quick solutions.
He cautioned it is "unrealistic to expect that a US president alone can suddenly snap his fingers and bring about peace in this region".
Obama's long day of meetings and events in Israel will be punctuated by a short trip to the West Bank for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Democratic senator, on a high-risk tour to prove his diplomatic and commander-in-chief credentials, touched down in Tel Aviv late Tuesday for a packed presidential-style schedule after visiting Iraq and Jordan.
But regional tensions immediately intruded, as a Palestinian man was shot dead after launching a bulldozer rampage which wounded at least 16 people near Jerusalem's King David Hotel where Obama was to stay.
Obama condemned the attack, saying it was a reminder of what Israelis have to "courageously live with on a daily basis for far too long," and promised to vigorously join the search for Middle East peace if he is elected in November.
The Illinois Senator, who is being advised by ex-president Bill Clinton's former Middle East envoy Dennis Ross, backed the two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But a day before meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders, he warned that entrenched positions, divisions among Palestinians and turbulent Israeli politics meant progress could be slow.
"It is a very difficult process. There is a lot of history that exists between those two people. That history is not going to vanish overnight.
"So I think it's unrealistic to expect that a US president alone can suddenly snap his fingers and bring about peace in this region."
While Obama is likely to be greeted as a hero in Europe, there remain questions in the Middle East about his potential policies.
His view that Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of Israel sparked fury among Palestinians, who saw it as pre-judging final status talks, while his offer to talk to Iran is likely to face scrutiny in Israel.
Obama's Israel schedule has more in common with a presidential trip than that of a mere candidate.
He will meet Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, opposition Likud party chief Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak, and then hold talks with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
The Obama camp again sought to clarify his position on Jerusalem after his comments to the US Jewish lobby in June, which aides later admitted were poorly worded.
"He has repeatedly said that Jerusalem is a final status issue to be negotiated by the parties, that Jerusalem will remain Israel's capital, but it should not again be divided by barbed wire and checkpoints," said one advisor.
From Israel, Obama will head to Germany for the symbolic centrepiece of his campaign swing, a major open-air speech in Berlin on US transatlantic relations.
The tour, which also involves stops in France and Britain, is seen as an attempt to prove Obama's credentials as a potential US commander-in-chief -- one of the few areas in opinion polls where he trails McCain.
Source: AP
