Obama says committed to Israel's security, peace process (Roundup)

Jul 23, 2008, 13:26 GMT

Presumptive Democratic Party presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (C-R) speaks in front of a display of Palestinian Qassam rockets and Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak (R), at the local police station during his visit to the southern Israeli town of Sderot, on 23 July 2008. EPA/DAVID SILVERMAN / POOL

Jerusalem - US Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama said Wednesday he was committed to Israeli security and the Middle East peace process, during a 30-hour visit to Israel in which he also took time to make a stop-over in the West Bank.

'Excellent' was the single word Obama used to describe his one- hour talk with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as he emerged from the parley in the central West Bank city of Ramallah.

But he had no time for joint statements with Abbas to the media, nor for a working lunch, leaving the city to continue his packed schedule of meetings in Jerusalem.

Abbas 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, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

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, Erekat, who attended the meeting, told reporters at Abbas' Ramallah headquarters.

'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.

In a message clearly aimed as much at Jewish voters at home as at America's key ally in the Middle East, he told Israeli President Shimon Peres of his 'abiding commitment to Israel's security.'

Speaking at Peres' official residence in Jerusalem, he said he hoped to 'serve as an effective partner, whether as a United States senator or as president, in bringing about a more lasting peace in the region.'

Obama congratulated Israel on the 60th anniversary of its establishment, praising its 'remarkable history' as a 'miracle.'

He had opened his busy, 15-hour day discussing regional threats, most notably Iran, with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak over breakfast, sounding out opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu and touring Jerusalem's Holocaust memorial museum.

Wearing a skullcap, he laid a wreath at Yad Vashem's Hall of Remembrance, in the centre of which is an eternal flame surrounded by the names of Nazi death camps.

On returning from Ramallah, he met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who would also join him on a helicopter tour that was to include a stop-over in Sderot, the rocket-stricken Israeli town near the Gaza Strip.

Obama was to round off his long day by dining with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and visiting Jerusalem's Western Wall, the holiest still-standing monument in Judaism, and a remnant of the Jewish Biblical Temple.

By visiting Sderot and the Western Wall, Obama is following the example of Republican candidate John McCain, who visited Israel in March. McCain's visit however excluded the West Bank, making a telephone call to Abbas only.

Palestinians expressed contentment that Obama took time to visit the West Bank, although some were unhappy about the tight schedule.

But asked about the short time Obama spent with the Palestinians, Erekat said 'it is not the time that counts, but the substance. He left us feeling very well, reassuring us about his commitment to peace.'

Many Palestinians have not forgotten Obama's remark of last month that Jerusalem should stay the undivided capital of Israel, from which he later backtracked.

They nevertheless prefer him to McCain, whom they regard as someone who would continue the 'extreme-hawkish, anti-Arab' policies of President George W Bush.

Israelis on the other hand seem to favour the Republican candidate, wary of Obama's intention to engage with Iran, which Israel regards as an 'existential threat.'

In an interview from Jordan's capital Amman with the CBS network Tuesday, Obama sought to reassure 'not only the people of Israel, but friends of Israel back home' that the Jewish state's security was 'paramount.'

'Engaging in tough diplomacy is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of strength,' he said.

Obama even backed Israel's September 2007 airstrike in northern Syria, saying the attack was appropriate because 'there was sufficient evidence' that Damascus had been developing a nuclear facility at the site 'similar to the North Korean model.'

He would not speculate on the likelihood of an Israeli preemptive strike in Iran, but did say 'Israel has a right to defend itself.'

The candidate's visit is an important step in his election campaign and intended to reaffirm strong ties between the US and Israel, drive home his own position and signal his support for the peace process, political analysts said.

His 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.

Obama condemned the attack that mirrored an incident in which three Israelis were killed on July 2.

The bulldozer frenzy, which took place just yards from Obama's Jerusalem King David hotel, is 'just one more reminder of why we have to work diligently and urgently and in a unified way to defeat terrorism,' he said after landing in Tel Aviv from Amman late Tuesday. 'There are no excuses.'