Israel, Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Obama Visits West Bank

President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Wednesday

---

1331 GMT:Palestine. President Obama's statement on Jewish settlements today, as he stood beside Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas:

One of the challenges [to the resumption of negotiations] has been continued settlement activity in the West Bank area. I've been clear with prime minster Netanyahu...that we do not consider continued settlement activity to be constructive, to be appropriate, to be something that can advance the cause of peace.

Asked about the Israeli-backed plan for settlements in the E1 area in the West Bank near Jerusalem, Obama said:

I think that is an example of a public statement by the Israeli government that would be very difficult to square with a two-state solution. And I've said that to prime minster Netanyahu. I don't think that's a secret.

However, Obama declared that the West Bank leadership should not demand a freeze on settlement before resuming discussions with Israel:

What I shared with President Abbas is that if the expectation is that we can only have direct negotiations when everything is settled ahead of time then there is no point for negotiations. It is important to work through this process even if there are irritants on both sides. The Israeli have concerns about rockets firing into their cities last night....

Even though 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.

Abbas replied:

Everybody considers settlements more than a hurdle toward a two-state solution. The Security Council issued more than 13 resolutions, not only condemning settlements but demanding ending and removing them because they’re illegal. We’re demanding nothing other than the implementation of international law.

We never gave up our vision that settlement activity is illegal, that the Israeli government understands this. We hope they listen. We spoke about this with the President and we clarified this.

1154 GMT:Palestine. President Obama and Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, are holding a press conference after their meeting in Ramallah.

Obama has declared, "The U.S. is committed to realising two states. We seek an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel so that the two sides enjoy prosperity and peace. The only way to achieve this goal is via direct negotiations."

Abbas paved the way for Obama's rhetoric, "[The Palestinian people] aspire to their rights, to freedom and independence ... to exercise normal life over the independent state of Palestine along the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital. We believe this is possible."

Obama also said that he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that settlements activity in the West Bank, including expansion in the E1 area near Jerusalem, is not constructive or appropriate.

0947 GMT:Palestine. Obama’s visit to the West Bank is given contrasting receptions by Palestinian leaders.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organisation has dismissed the likelihood of fruitful discussions about Palestinian statehood: "The primary purpose of this visit is Israeli security, Israeli-American relations and saying that the U.S. has its back.”

According to a report by the New York Times based on a "set of private notes", Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas appears to be more optimistic and iswilling to soften his demand that negotiations can only begin once Israel publicly declares a halt to settlement construction.

The shift in the Palestinian leader’s stance was laid out in a draft set of talking points prepared for Abbas by his negotiating team in advance of his private meeting on Thursday with President Obama....

“He can pledge to you secretly that he will stop settlement activities during the period of negotiations,” read one talking point, referring to President Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. “(He does not have to announce it.)”

0755 GMT: Israel and Palestine. "Political sources in Jerusalem" say the Israeli military will not react to the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip: "The Israeli response will come at the right time and the right place."

0735 GMT: Palestine. Today President Obama, after a visit to the Israel Museum, moves to Ramallah for discussions with leaders of the Palestinian Authority, including West Bank President Mahmoud Abbas.

Already, however, the headlines have been stolen by reports that at least two rockets fired from Gaza into into southern Israel.

0725 GMT: Israel and Palestine. The first day of President Obama's visit went as expected, with the standard statements as he stood alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before and after their meeting.

The President declared his dedication to Israel's security and to the US-Israeli strategic relationship, while speaking generally about the desire for peace between West Jerusalem and its neighbours --- the unnamed Palestinians. Netanyahu emphasised that Israel has a right to defend itself.

The public appearances were enough to give a general cloak for the private discussions of Palestine, Iran, and Syria. Nothing point to a meaningful shift came out of the press conference, rather each man used diplomatic coding to hold his line.

On Palestine, Obama gave away nothing to move from the US position, stated last week by Secretary of State John Kerry, that while the US would welcome a renewal of the peace process, it has no plans to lead that renewal. Nor did Netanyahu show an eagerness to resume negotiations.

On Iran, the US President batted back any questions trying to nudge Washington towards support of Israeli military action, while Netanyahu held to the possiblity: "Diplomacy and sanctions so far have not stopped Iran's nuclear program."