Barack Obama: Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is a priority

On the second day of his Middle-East tour, the US President met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Mr Obama headed to the West Bank with the message that the creation of a Palestinian state remained a priority for his administration.

Earlier he visited Israel’s national museum where he inspected the Dead Sea Scrolls. Although the US President has not brought a new plan to relaunch peace talks, he is expected to appeal to both sides to halt unilateral actions that make negotiations difficult.

These include continued construction of Jewish housing settlements on land claimed by the Palestinians and repeated Palestinian efforts to achieve recognition at the UN in the absence of a peace agreement. Yasser Abed-Rabbo, an aide to Mr Abbas, said before the meeting that they would tell Mr Obama that they would not return to negotiations with Israel without a settlement freeze.

The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem — territories Israel captured in the 1967 war — but are ready to accommodate some settlements closest to Israel. Yesterday Mr Obama reaffirmed the unwavering US commitment to Israel’s security and noted there had been no fatal attacks on Israelis from the West Bank, run by Mr Abbas.