Obama meets Abbas March 2013

Obama's open mic slip in Israel

On a personal note, the president told how he met with young Palestinians before his speech and they differed little from his own daughters, adding that he believed Israeli parents would want Palestinian youths to succeed if they had a chance to talk to them.

 

During his earlier visit to to Ramallah in the West Bank, Obama stressed the need for direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians for a two-state solution.

 

Palestinians see Israeli 'growth' as roadblock

 

"The Palestinian people deserve an end to occupation and the daily indignities that come with it," he said at a news conference with Abbas, adding that Palestinians deserve "a future of hope" and a "state of their own."

Obama said he and Abbas discussed, among other things, the Israeli settlements and the issue of Palestinian prisoners. He called for shunning the old habits, arguments and formulas that have stymied the peace process and envisioned "two nations, two neighbors at peace, Israel and Palestine."

At the news conference and in his later speech, Obama said the foundation for a peace agreement exists if both sides can overcome internal and external obstacles and pressure, and can join together making the leap.

 

The core issues right now, Obama said, are achieving sovereignty for Palestinians and security for Israel.

"That's not to say settlements are not important," he told reporters. "It is to say that if we solve those two problems, the settlement problem will be solved. So I don't want to put the cart before the horse. I want to make sure that we are getting to the core issues and the substance."

During a news conference on Wednesday with Netanyahu, neither leader mentioned the settlements, showing the sensitivity of the issue for the conservative prime minister who just formed a new coalition government after a narrow election victory.

In Ramallah on Thursday, Obama praised the Palestinian Authority led by Abbas but said Hamas, which governs Gaza, "has the responsibility to prevent" violations of a cease-fire with Israel such as the two rockets fired in the morning.

President Obama visit to Israel as President March 2013

US President Barack Obama is welcomed by Israeli President Benjamin Nethanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport on March 20, 2013 near Tel Aviv, Israel. This will be Obama's first visit as President to the region, and his itinerary will include meetings with the Palestinian and Israeli leaders as well as a visit to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/president-obama-visit-israel-gallery-1.1294004#ixzz2OGChn4Uv

Barack Obama Vacation

After an expensive Valentine's Day dinner date at an exclusive, swanky Washington restaurant, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are apparently vacationing separately over President's Day weekend.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/obamas-separate-vacation-jaunts-article-1.1265173


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/obamas-separate-vacation-jaunts-article-1.1265173#ixzz2OG5c0kQ5

Obama appeals to Israelis: Give justice to the Palestinians

Obama appeals to Israelis: Give justice to the Palestinians

 

President Barack Obama on Thursday urged the Israeli people to put themselves in the shoes of Palestinians and recognize their "right to self-determination, their right to justice."
In a televised speech at the Jerusalem Convention Center, Obama said there should be "two states for two peoples."
Breaking off from his prepared text, he said that he recently met with a group of young Palestinians.

---

"Talking to them, they weren’t that different from my daughters, they weren’t that different from your daughters or sons," he said.
"I honestly believe that if any Israeli parent sat down with these kids, they’d say, 'I want these kids to succeed, I want them to prosper, I want them to have opportunities just like my kids do,'" he added to applause.

 

........................................................................................................................

President Barack Obama tried Thursday to invigorate the stalled Middle East peace process, urging young Israelis to pressure their leaders to seek peace with Palestinians while acknowledging the Jewish state's historical right to exist and defend itself from continuing threats.

In a speech in Jerusalem that Obama had said would lay out his vision for the region, the president urged Israelis to look at the world through the eyes of Palestinians but also said enemies of Israel must change their rhetoric and tactics to reflect modern reality.

"You are not alone," Obama said in both English and Hebrew, prompting a standing ovation when he declared that "those who adhere to the ideology of rejecting Israel's right to exist might as well reject the Earth beneath them and the sky above, because Israel is not going anywhere."

Hours before the speech on the second day of a Middle East swing, two rockets fired from Palestinian-controlled Gaza landed in southern Israel.