Barack Obama greeted in Israel with rockets from Gaza
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - Heavy rockets fired from the Gaza Strip this morning struck the south of Israel, just as U.S. President Barack Obama - who landed yesterday in Tel Aviv - prepared to visit the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
The two rockets did not cause any
victims: one damaged a house, the other crashed into a field. Two
other rockets had been launched before falling within Gaza.
Today's
launches seem to be more demonstrative than a targeted attack. They
break a hard-won truce last November between Israel and Hamas, after eight days
of the war that killed 177 Palestinians and six Israelis. During
that time, Palestinian militants launched at least 933 rockets into Israel, a
further 421 were intercepted by the "Iron Dome" anti-missile defense
system, which was sponsored by the U.S.. Yesterday,
on his arrival in Israel, Obama traveled to visit that system.
It is likely that the rockets
launched today are a sign of contempt for the man who called himself "Israel's
closest ally," united by an "unbreakable bond".
A
great disappointment is spreading among Palestinians over the President and
U.S. policy in the Middle East. In
2009, in Cairo, Barack Obama gave a memorable speech, saying that he was ready
to work for the "two States" solution, to halt Israeli settlements in
the occupied territories, for an increase of cultural dialogue between the
Islamic world and the West. But
to this day the "two states" are still a dream: the United States
vetoed the recognition of a Palestinian state as a full member at the UN,
Israeli settlements have increased and the existing ones have been enlarged; all
cultural dialogue has ground to a halt in the face of the turmoil produced by
the Arab Spring in the region.
Although yesterday Obama pledged to engage in the "two states" solution - with due provision that "Israel has a right to defend itself" - his visit to the region, the first since the presidential election in November, is more linked to the Syrian issue and Iran. For years Israel has been concerned about the Iranian nuclear threat and wants support in its plans to target Tehran's nuclear power. The White House still prefers to use the diplomatic channel, even if the option cannot be a long term one.
The conclusion, for many Palestinians, is that "Obama is worse than George W. Bush."
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