Obama pledges support for Israel’s security
Washington, 23 July (IranVNC)—Democratic candidate for the US presidency Barack Obama is in Israel today where he pledged his staunch support for the Jewish state and reiterated his commitment to further the establishment of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal if elected.
By: IranVNC
Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2008
13:12GMT—9:13AM/EST
ISRAEL – OBAMA – PALESTINE – IRAN
Washington, 23 July (IranVNC)—Democratic candidate for the US presidency Barack Obama is in Israel today where he pledged his staunch support for the Jewish state and reiterated his commitment to further the establishment of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal if elected.
After meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and laying a wreath to honor Holocaust victims, Obama addressed political and military veteran and current Israeli president Shimon Peres, vowing his “abiding commitment” to Israel’s security and praising Israel as a “miracle” he said that it is “as an American and a friend of Israel that we stand with the people of Sderot and all of the people of Israel.”
The Illinois senator has recently been bombarded with criticism, not only from Israelis for his willingness to negotiate with Iranian leaders, but also from the Palestinian community over his vow to help maintain Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. Palestinians want captured Arab East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
Referring to the peace process, Reuters reports Obama as saying he hoped he could help bring about lasting peace in the region. Obama went on to offer support for Israel’s right to defend itself, and has denounced Iran’s president’s call for the annihilation of Israel in the past.
Recently, Obama expressed support for Israel’s decision to bomb a suspected nuclear site in neighboring Syria last September – a move that infuriated Syria and its ally, Iran.
“I think that there was sufficient evidence that they were developing a site using nuclear… [ellipsis as published] or using a blueprint that was similar to the North Korean model,” said Obama in an interview with CBS news, according to AFP. “The Israelis live in a very tough neighborhood where a lot of folks publicly proclaim Israel as an enemy and then act on those proclamations.”
Obama’s critics have dismissed his trip to Israel and commendation of the Jewish state as politicized rhetoric aimed at garnering support from Jewish-American voters.
An editorial in Iran’s Conservative Resalat daily said the Iranians see Obama as being inconsistent and inexperienced.
It reads: “… he issued a statement immediately after the Islamic Republic of Iran’s missile test exercise, in which he called for the necessity of changing policy towards Iran and for countries to impose multi-faceted sanctions against Iran, claiming that is he were to become president, he will do everything in his power to eliminate and erase the threat posed by Iran…because of his lack of experience in international politics, he will be unable to properly understand issues and take the right decision.”
Obama is set to meet Palestinian leaders in the West Bank later today, before heading to Europe.
Sources: Reuters, Agence France Presse, Conservative Resalat
© IranVNC 2008. All rights reserved.