Democratic presidential candidate Obama to arrive in Israel today

American Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will arrive in Israel today as part of his Middle East tour and will meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Senator Obama will dine with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this evening and will also visit the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. He will meet tomorrow with Israeli leaders including opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Obama's visit will also include a helicopter flight over the West Bank accompanied by Livni and a visit to the southern Israeli town of Sderot, which has suffered from the Qassam rocket attacks from Gaza.

In the Palestinian leg of the visit, Obama will meet Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah tomorrow. The presidential candidate's visit has been organised by former US diplomats to the Middle East, Dennis Ross and Dan Kurtzer. Senator Obama will also be accompanied by 100 US media reporters during the trip.

The Illinois senator has been criticised throughout his campaign for lacking foreign policy credentials and international experience. Obama was, however, able to overcome most of this criticism through what is seen as a pragmatic policy that will change US foreign policy in tone and focus. In terms of US focus, Obama famously committed to the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq according to a strict time frame and an increase of US pressure on al-Qaeda activity in Afghanistan. The senator also stressed his commitment to diplomatic talks with heads of states that have so far been shunned by the current administration. In this regard, Obama is likely to use his visit in Jerusalem today to clarify his stance on the use of diplomacy over the Iranian nuclear threat, which has been a matter of concern in Jerusalem and among Jewish voters in the US.

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