Obama: Israel, our great friend

The United States and Israel will forever remain allies. That the U.S. President Barack Obama said on the first day of his visit to Israel. “Israel will find no better friend than the United States,” said Obama immediately upon arrival at the airport in Tel Aviv.

It is the first official visit by Obama to Israel and the Palestinian territories. “I see this visit as a chance to bond between our countries to reaffirm to the unwavering commitment of  America for the security of Israel to emphasize the direct with the Israeli people and talk to your neighbors, “Obama said at the welcoming ceremony.

Nuclear Iran

Israeli President Shimon Peres told Obama that he is confident that the United States will prevent Iran access to nuclear weapons. “The biggest danger is a nuclear Iran. We trust your policy.”

The expectation is that Obama is trying the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians to improve. But presumably he has no concrete plans on which the bag jammed peace process can be revived. Israel is still the main U.S. ally in the Middle East, but the personal relations between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are not too good.

No plan for peace talks

In Israel this week a new right-wing government came to power. Obama’s Thursday to the West Bank, where he and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks. It is for the Palestinians a great disappointment that the U.S. president has no plan to release the jammed peace talks back on track.

Obama: Israel, our great friend