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Zionist US Pres. Obama arrives in Tel Aviv amid rising tension

mozaheb20130320120542110US President Barack Obama has arrived in Tel Aviv as part of his visit to the Middle East as protests against his visit escalated in the occupied West Bank.

On Wednesday, Obama was welcomed at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv by his Israeli counterpart, Shimon Peres, and the Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu.

Upon his arrival, Obama reiterated Washington’s pledge of unwavering commitment to Israel.

Israel’s prime minister also thanked Obama for standing by Israel. Netanyahu viewed an Iron Dome anti-missile battery system that was brought to the airport with Obama. The system is partially funded by the US, which provides Israel with military aid worth 3 billion US dollars per annum.

Reports say no major breakthrough in the so-called peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians is expected during Obama’s visit.

Palestinian demonstrators had held protest rallies earlier on the day against Obama’s planned visit to the occupied West Bank, saying Obama is not doing enough to stop Israel’s settlement activities and the arbitrary arrest of Palestinians by Israeli troops.

In December 2012, Israeli officials said they would go ahead with plans to build several thousands more of settler units on Palestinian territories, despite the opposition of the United Nations and the international community to the measure.

The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.

More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds in 1967.

The UN and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands.

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