Obama says he is not yet giving up on ‘Mideast peace’
22 March 2013 6:19 AM IST
US President Barack Obama on Thursday urged Israelis and Palestinians to get back to peace talks but offered no new ideas on how they might do so, essentially abandoning his previous support of the Palestinian demand for Israel to halt settlement activity before negotiations resume.
In remarks likely to disappoint, if not infuriate, the Palestinians, Obama said the United States continues to oppose the construction of Jewish housing on land claimed by the Palestinians but stressed that issues of disagreement between the two sides should not be used as an ‘excuse’ to do nothing.
‘Even though both sides may have areas of strong disagreement, maybe engaging in activities that the other side considers to be a breach of good faith, we have to push through those things to try to get to an agreement,’ President Obama told reporters at a joint news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, West Bank.
SEEDLING PLANTED BY OBAMA QUARANTINED
Rules are rules and are applicable to all. It was clearly in evidence when the Israeli agriculture ministry decided to quarantine a seedling planted by US President Barack Obama in the Israeli counterpart’s garden. ‘As US President Barack Obama brought the seedling with him and as it is strictly prohibited to bring vegetation from overseas into Israel without a check of quarantine due to fear of exposure to disease or pests, the plant will be examined,’ the ministry of agriculture here said. The seedling planted by Obama and Israeli President Shimon Peres will be sent for examination and it may take several weeks before it returns to Jerusalem.
US PREZ’S LIMOUSINE BREAKS DOWN IN ISRAEL!
Barack Obama’s heavily armoured limousine, dubbed ‘The Beast’, broke down in Israel even before the US President landed as it was apparently refueled using petrol instead of diesel. The US Secret Service was forced to fly another vehicle in from Jordan on Wednesday where it was waiting for the US leader. ‘The Beast’ failed to start, and was towed here but Obama, who landed at Ben-Gurion International airport on Wednesday afternoon, was not in the country at the time the vehicle broke down, Fox News reported. A second presidential limo was brought to transport Obama from the airport.
In remarks likely to disappoint, if not infuriate, the Palestinians, Obama said the United States continues to oppose the construction of Jewish housing on land claimed by the Palestinians but stressed that issues of disagreement between the two sides should not be used as an ‘excuse’ to do nothing.
‘Even though both sides may have areas of strong disagreement, maybe engaging in activities that the other side considers to be a breach of good faith, we have to push through those things to try to get to an agreement,’ President Obama told reporters at a joint news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, West Bank.
SEEDLING PLANTED BY OBAMA QUARANTINED
Rules are rules and are applicable to all. It was clearly in evidence when the Israeli agriculture ministry decided to quarantine a seedling planted by US President Barack Obama in the Israeli counterpart’s garden. ‘As US President Barack Obama brought the seedling with him and as it is strictly prohibited to bring vegetation from overseas into Israel without a check of quarantine due to fear of exposure to disease or pests, the plant will be examined,’ the ministry of agriculture here said. The seedling planted by Obama and Israeli President Shimon Peres will be sent for examination and it may take several weeks before it returns to Jerusalem.
US PREZ’S LIMOUSINE BREAKS DOWN IN ISRAEL!
Barack Obama’s heavily armoured limousine, dubbed ‘The Beast’, broke down in Israel even before the US President landed as it was apparently refueled using petrol instead of diesel. The US Secret Service was forced to fly another vehicle in from Jordan on Wednesday where it was waiting for the US leader. ‘The Beast’ failed to start, and was towed here but Obama, who landed at Ben-Gurion International airport on Wednesday afternoon, was not in the country at the time the vehicle broke down, Fox News reported. A second presidential limo was brought to transport Obama from the airport.
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