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| Barack Obama: Israeli settlement activity not constructive to peace | Barack Obama: Israeli settlement activity not constructive to peace |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Barack Obama has voiced opposition to Israeli settlement-building but pressed the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to drop his demand for a freeze before Middle East peace talks can resume. | Barack Obama has voiced opposition to Israeli settlement-building but pressed the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to drop his demand for a freeze before Middle East peace talks can resume. |
| After an effusive welcome in Israel, Obama travelled to the West Bank on Thursday, where disillusioned Palestinians held out little hope that their moment in the spotlight of a US presidential visit would help revive the peace process. | After an effusive welcome in Israel, Obama travelled to the West Bank on Thursday, where disillusioned Palestinians held out little hope that their moment in the spotlight of a US presidential visit would help revive the peace process. |
| At a news conference with Abbas, Obama said he had "been clear" with the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, that Washington did not consider continued settlement activity to be constructive to "the cause of peace". | At a news conference with Abbas, Obama said he had "been clear" with the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, that Washington did not consider continued settlement activity to be constructive to "the cause of peace". |
| In a later speech in Jerusalem the US president re-iterated the line, telling an audience of students that continued settlement activity was "counterproductive" to peace. | |
| "Israelis must recognise that continued settlement activity is counterproductive to the cause of peace, and that an independent Palestine must be viable, that real borders will have to be drawn," Obama said in a nationally televised speech. | |
| But the president stopped short of calling for a halt to settlement expansion – a demand he had made early in his first term. He used the press conference with Abbas to signal his frustration over the failure of Israel and the Palestinians to find a way to resume talks stalled since 2010. | |
| However, he offered no new ideas on how to get the two sides negotiating again, at a time when prospects for a peace deal are grim in a region roiled by the west's nuclear standoff with Iran and the bloody civil war in Syria. | However, he offered no new ideas on how to get the two sides negotiating again, at a time when prospects for a peace deal are grim in a region roiled by the west's nuclear standoff with Iran and the bloody civil war in Syria. |
| "What I shared with President Abbas, and I'll share it with the Palestinian people: if the expectation is we can only have direct negotiations when everything is settled ahead of time, then there's no point in the negotiations," he said. | "What I shared with President Abbas, and I'll share it with the Palestinian people: if the expectation is we can only have direct negotiations when everything is settled ahead of time, then there's no point in the negotiations," he said. |
| "My argument is even though both sides may have areas of strong disagreement, may be engaging in activities that the other side thinks is a breach of good faith, we have to push through those things to try to get an agreement." | "My argument is even though both sides may have areas of strong disagreement, may be engaging in activities that the other side thinks is a breach of good faith, we have to push through those things to try to get an agreement." |
| Some 150 Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Ramallah to protest against Obama's visit. Mass ranks of police prevented them from nearing Abbas's compound. | Some 150 Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Ramallah to protest against Obama's visit. Mass ranks of police prevented them from nearing Abbas's compound. |
| A smiling Obama, accompanied by Abbas, was met by mostly stern-faced Palestinian officials along a red carpet – a stark contrast to the broad grins and backslapping during an elaborate welcoming ceremony on Wednesday at Tel Aviv airport, Israel. | A smiling Obama, accompanied by Abbas, was met by mostly stern-faced Palestinian officials along a red carpet – a stark contrast to the broad grins and backslapping during an elaborate welcoming ceremony on Wednesday at Tel Aviv airport, Israel. |
| Obama, embarking on a second and final four-year term in the White House, has made clear he is not bringing any new peace initiatives but instead has come to Israel and the Palestinian territories on a "listening" tour. | Obama, embarking on a second and final four-year term in the White House, has made clear he is not bringing any new peace initiatives but instead has come to Israel and the Palestinian territories on a "listening" tour. |
| But he said his new secretary of state, John Kerry, would spend a significant amount of time and energy trying to narrow differences between the two sides as the US sought to move them back to the negotiating table. | But he said his new secretary of state, John Kerry, would spend a significant amount of time and energy trying to narrow differences between the two sides as the US sought to move them back to the negotiating table. |
| Abbas reaffirmed his demand for a settlement freeze, but held out the prospect of a broader peace between Israel and other Arab nations if a Palestinian state was created. | Abbas reaffirmed his demand for a settlement freeze, but held out the prospect of a broader peace between Israel and other Arab nations if a Palestinian state was created. |
| "If peace came between us and the Israelis, Israel knows well that all the Arab and Islamic countries, 57 states, will recognise the state of Israel immediately," he said. | "If peace came between us and the Israelis, Israel knows well that all the Arab and Islamic countries, 57 states, will recognise the state of Israel immediately," he said. |
| As a reminder of the ever-present risks in the region, Iranian state television quoted the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as saying Tehran would raze Tel Aviv and the city of Haifa if Israel carried out veiled threats to attack Iran. | As a reminder of the ever-present risks in the region, Iranian state television quoted the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as saying Tehran would raze Tel Aviv and the city of Haifa if Israel carried out veiled threats to attack Iran. |
| Meanwhile, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets into Sderot, a southern Israeli town Obama visited when running for president in 2008. Police said no one was hurt. | Meanwhile, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets into Sderot, a southern Israeli town Obama visited when running for president in 2008. Police said no one was hurt. |