you know from the point of view of the palestinian leadership they're not there yet i think palestinian public opinion on the other hand has been has been ready. for such an initiative for quite a few years now you know why did it take so long for obama to go to israel in your opinion. well before before i answer the question i would like to supplement something that no we said it's not just been there peace process it's been the show every front and then six trimly frustrating the degree to which this theater this political theater has poisoned the minds or confused the minds of normally intelligent people so you take not just the share peace process but you take the sham economy even in you look out what you might call in light in people they keep praising the economic reforms that have been instituted by prime minister fayyad but there is no economy in palestine i was just reading on the way to your studio this morning on the subway i was reading the latest world bank report on the palestinian economy and the report it's written in such a fashion that you think you're talking about a

settlements are a big issue for the palestinians. much advice has come from this town and other places that the settlements should not be an issue. the more settlements you build, the less chance you have for a rival palestinian state. what the president did in that particular segment was, from the palestinian's point of view, that was his finest moment. he said, put yourself in their shoes. see how they endure the military occupation day after day. on the issue of settlements, there is probably some sort of agreement. everybody talks about the silent commitment by benjamin netanyahu that we will not expand outside jerusalem and some of the other areas. this will go a great deal to sympathize with the palestinians to go forward and rejoin the negotiations. if this were to be true, some activities in the larger middle east -- i think you will find the palestinians are ready to go to negotiations. we have to look at this memo leaked by the new york times a couple of days ago with the palestinians were appealing to the president to get

you made credible proposals to the palestinians at annapolis. you withdrew from gaza and lebanon and then faced terror and rockets. across the region you've extended a hand of friendship and all too often you've been confronted with rejection and in some cases the ugly reality of anti-semitism. so i believe that the israeli people do want peace, and i also understand why too many israelis, maybe an increasing number, maybe a lot of young people here today are skeptical that it can be achieved. but today israel is at a crossroads. it can be tempting to put aside the frustrations and sacrifices that come with the pursuit of peace, particularly when iron dome repels rockets, barriers keep out suicide bombers. there's so many other pressing issues that demand your attention. and i know that only israelis can make the fundamental decision about your country's future. i recognize that. i also know, by the way, that not everyone in this hall will agree with what i have to say about peace. i recognize that there are those who are not simply skeptical ab

whether it's on the palestinian side, hung up on settlement construction, hung up that the palestinian leadership at the moment in gaza includes a terrorist group, hamas. the president trying to create some new climate for peace without resolving the many obstacles to peace. one of the big questions during this whole visit has been, is he shoulder to shoulder with prime minister benjamin netanyahu on iran? you can be sure, as the prime minister sees the president later today, he will be very happy with what the president said in the speech about iran, saying that he has the sense of urgency that is required and that iran should know it's time for diplomacy is not unlimited. >> the president making the case that the u.s./israeli military relationship, the security cooperation, has never been better. our jerusalem correspondent, sara sidner, who watches and lives this story every single day, let me get your thoughts on what we just heard, sara? >> reporter: i thought one of the poignant moments is when the audience reacted to something he said about the palestinians, that occupation nor

it is palestinian security. what can the u.s. really do about palestinian security? >> it is paradoxical that the palestinian guard is funded to secure the israeli security. the listing to keep is down to keep settlers and israel safety guaranteed. what could be most interesting out of this visit -- i'm going out on a ledge here -- i would say that the president would do it everything for the palestinians that would not upset the israelis. that is prepping up the palestinian authority, especially on economic level and the organizational level, in such a way that netanyahu once spoke of economic keys with the palestinians. they would like to see some prisoners released. he would like to have more spending on education, more bridging with gaza, more as such ay to govern palestinians state could -- state. >> it will be interesting to see exactly what concrete comes out of this. thank you very much. the un human rights council has approved a resolution demanding that sri lankan government .nvestigate alleged war crimes rebels are accused of atrocities at the end of their

protests are expected to greet president obama as he arrives in the west bank with palestinians unhappy over a lack of movement from the u.s. and israel towards a two state solution this is obama reaffirms washington's unbreakable bond with television. pull in a china shop russia's prime minister slams the e.u. over its handling of cyprus is economic turmoil in a cool welcome for the brussels officials who arrive in moscow attempting to calm the financial storm. in syria's government and opposition rebels both demand an international probe deadly chemical attack that both sides are blaming on each other. welcome you're watching with me. now for rockets have reportedly been fired from gaza into israel where u.s. president barack obama is on his first foreign visit since reelection he's expected to head to the west bank later on thursday as part of his middle east tour our correspondent. and joins us live. firstly what more can you tell us about this morning's rocket attacks. well as you say there were four rockets that were fired from the northern gaza and town of beit hanoun as israel t

palestinians must recognize the right of israel. israel must recognize the right of palestinians. >> jon: sooner! in our view, something must be developed that gives the palestinians people meaningful control over their own lives and fate and provides for the acceptance and security of israel. >> jon: we are [bleep] powerless. look, i don't want to say this is... ( cheers and applause ) >> jon: ... this is repetitive. i don't want to say this is repetitive for american presidents but watch this. hold on. that right there. (mumbling) hold on. >> it seems to me if jews ever get a state in the laadvantage, any arabs who live there should get one too. that's equitable and fair but what do i know? i'm only the father of your country. if you'll excuse me, i have an appointment inside a stripper's g-string. ( cheers and applause ) >> jon: talk is cheap. we've done that for years. call me when there's actually some diplomatic progress >> the president also scored a huge diplomatic victory on this trip today. >> jon: wait. what? did my ears

concerns and palestinian issues at the same time a big issue here in palestine is that of palestinian prisoners who are currently on a hunger strike now today is the palestinian mothers day and the mothers of these striking prisoners asked for meeting with a bomb that was declined so certainly a lot of anger here in palestine and obama will have a lot of having to make up if indeed he's going to get the palestinians on his side ever again ok paula we do have to leave it there but thank you very much as artesia live from the west bank. well earlier i spoke to jeffrey laurenti a senior fellow at the century foundation on international affairs about the apparent good cop bad cop approach between israel and the u.s. over iran he says netanyahu suggestion that israel might act without american approval is pure. certainly the prime minister netanyahu is trying to set the marker that the united states cannot hold him back indefinitely if you feel israel's security interests are at stake but this may very well legally a good deal of reviving old talk that he really in fact cannot act on that

state subject to the palestinian government and palestinian laws it's their choice is settlements the major issue which has to be resolved before any kind of real peace talks can take place settlements or important because they do constitute. a form of de facto annexation today we have some six hundred thousand settlers in august and. they are taking more and more larry and the result is that. the idea of palestinian state becomes non-viable and what troubles me is that the present israeli government does not see that its policies do not serve the best interests of the jewish people i believe that it is in the best interests of the jewish people to continue to build the state of israel with in the border is terribly to nine hundred forty eight forty nine and to encourage the settlement with the creation of a palestinian state nearby but there are the present trend in the region is unfortunately in favor of an apartheid state do you think that the international criminal court has to bring prosecutions against people involved in the israeli palestinian conflict i don't think that prosec

he talked about unhappiness among palestinians among increasing jewish settlements in palestinian territoriest playing favorites here in any way? >> i think sometimes we should play favorites. not an equivalency between israelis and palestinians. israel is our closest ally in the middle east. we want to work with palestinians and bring about peace. i don that doesn't mean we can't work to bring peace between of two of them. and having said that i think the president has shown on the issue of settlement, he thinks any ultimate resolution has involved israel stopping the settlements and the president made that clear. he also supports a two-state solution. it was balanced. but, again, keep in mind, israel is our ally. important to keep in mind. >> good point. >> the president did condemn the overnight rocket attacks from gaza and two rockets apparently hit a southern town. the president did condemn those attacks. i want to bring in george mitchell, former senator, and special envoy to the middle east. the president seemed to lay down parameters for how the sides might get back to the table. he s

brings you an exclusive interview with the president of the palestinian state mahmoud abbas. wealthy british style. time to. market why not. come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike's concert for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to kaiser report on our. choose your language. of holy week you know if. someone. chooses to use the consensus here to. choose the opinions that invigorating to. choose the stories that impact your life choose the access to your office. they've been living this way since the seventeenth century. their rituals are strict. their communities and the selling. they clearly distinguish between their own and the alien. and guard their family and things and the treasure. when their own country can't offer them a living even loving mothers sometimes have to leave their children behind. i don't like to wonder just a bit longer. if the dream of millions of migrants that their children might choose their own motherland. i want my children to win over moscow. russia has become this stepmother land. m

you know to release the taxes that the israelis are holding on the palestinians. there will be no circumvent freeze so that's that's a major stumbling block. i don't think that there will be too much out of this whole visit for the palestinians thank you very much a very good graham and activist to any gods are they talking to us live. right now if you want to express or to express your opinion on the stories that we cover here on our t.v. you can of course go to r.t. dot com. we actually want you to take part in a poll were asking you want to use see obama's real intentions of coming to israel now he's up twenty three percent of you think the way to keep israel from attacking iran that's the reason why he was there sixty five percent of you says it was a pyrrhic stunt that will achieve nothing while percent of you say paying lip service only to palestine while four percent of you they think that attempting to resume the peace talks now of course or you can pass a your voice on r.t. dot com do you go there we want to know what you think of blood this subject the f

protests are expected to greet president obama is here arrives in the west bank with palestinians unhappy a lack of movement from the u.s. and israel towards a two state solution this is obama reaffirms washington's. a bull in a china shop russia's prime minister. over its handling of the cyprus economic turmoil in a cool welcome to the brussels officials who arrive in moscow attempting to calm the financial storm. syria's government and opposition rebels demand an international probe into an alleged deadly chemical attack that both sides are blaming on each other. welcome good to have you company you're watching life from moscow. u.s. president barack obama has reassured israel of washington's unwavering support seeking to close a chapter of strained relations between the key allies during his first ever visit to the country as president obama vowed to prevent neighboring iran from obtaining nuclear weapons but failed to offer any solution to the israeli palestinian conflict middle east correspondent brings us more now from the west bank obama's next stop off. president obama certainly s

lot of having to make up if indeed he's going to get the palestinians on his side ever again. political analyst even him allusion says palestinians are angry by an apparent lack of desire on the part of israel and the u.s. to bring peace to the region. the state of israel speaking about defense is really like a carnivore speaking about being vegetarian this state of israel has been launching one that after another against neighboring arab states as well as palestinians with and most recently in gaza and two thousand of all the things that are supposed to be discussed during obama's visit to occupied palestine i think the question of iran being a target is probably the most important one on the list obviously we have different agendas here but at the same time let's not forget is that the prominence of iran and the gulf area and across the other breeds and of you is also upsetting nato's balance of power in the reeds and there's nothing substantial to be expected from this visit the primary goal of this visit is to embellish obama's image as an unsigned matanya whole personalit

the west bank palestinians will. underwhelmed by the meeting saying obama avoided the most grave obstacles to peace in the region obama's trips been overshadowed by the daughter of a gazan rocket attack on israel it came after his meeting there on wednesday promised to benjamin netanyahu fall asleep as the latest on this story. well it's not such a large crowd of anti obama protesters here in ramallah but the same to be expressed here i would be reflective of the general mood on the palestinian street and what people here have been chanting is a bomb that if you're not black they've also been chanting that the occupation is like a snake and america is the head of the snake they're also saying that this is a nation that cannot be defeated not been talking to several people and what they've been telling me is that first and foremost through this visit a bomb has made it quite clear that america's support is for israel they complain that he's been talking to these radios hearing the israelis point of view and then ultim

the palestinians. you don't want it raise expectations. you don't want to put the parties back at the table if those negotiations would quickly collapse. where does that leave you? the president's top priority is simply this. don't let things get worse. i've been in gaza and ramallah and also the palestinian communities and israeli settlements in the west bank. by all accounts one thing p everybody agrees on is that tensions were rising again. there was a bit of a calm after the november skirmishes. there was a bit of a calm. tensions are rising now. rocket attacks on the roads around those israeli settlements and some talking about the possibility of another fatah. perhaps to lay the bricks of a foundation for peace talks several months down the road. >> of course, john, the neighborhood has seen its share of turmoil with this debate over whether chemical weapons are being used in syria. the president has already discussed that with benjamin t netanyahu. it could even come up with the palestinian lead

the palestinians never give up their desire for self- determination. their frustration spilled out in the late 1980's with a desperate uprising against israeli occupation. that conflict ended in 1993 with the signing of the oslo accords. >> all the peoples of the middle east deserve the blessings of peace. >> for the first time, there was mutual recognition between israel and the palestinians. u.s. president bill clinton looked on as yasser arafat and israeli leaders shook hands. nevertheless, prospects for peace were shaken when palestinian extremists intensified their campaign of terror. for its part, israel broke with accords by refusing to dismantle settlements in the west bank and gaza strip. washington changed its middle east chad agee following the attacks of september 11. americans were more focused on the war on terror. peace with the palestinians took a back seat. but in 2002, president george de b. bush outlined a two-state solution when he presented what was called the road map. again, the three-that peace plan failed to stop the spiraling

to reconsider aid for the palestinian authority. secretary clinton said "we've ma it verylea that we cannot support any government that consists of hamas unless and until hamas adopts principles that have been well known to everyone for a number of years." the principles include recognizing the state of israel. shipley tellhami says the u.s. should be prepared to drop that insistence when it comes to political parties if it hopes to broker a peace deal. >> i think we should insist that any palestinian government-- whether it's hamas or whoever it is-- meet certain conditions including being against terrorism, meeting its international obligations with parties we never insist they meet certain obligations and i think we're going to have to reassess. the environment has changed. if there's still time far two-state solution we're on the last leg. >> warner: why the last leg? >> israelis and arabs no longer believe in the two-state solution. >> warner: during our recent trip in january, we found many palestinians who've lost belief in t

he gained the support of the palestinians in that speech because he called for a palestinian state. but so little has happened. so little has changed on the ground that he lost the support of the palestinian people. their reaction to president obama today ranged from indifference to outright hostility. he was well received in the palestinian headquarters in ramallah but outside the headquarters, you only had to go a few hundred yards and you would have found over the past few days in ramallah, almost daily demonstrations by palestinians against the president, calling him the president of the israelis. they said you're no -- the refrain among the palestinian protesters was you're no friend of the palestinians. you're a friend of the israelis. so mending fences with the israelis was very much on his general. just as important was mending fwenss the palestinian people. he said the right things to the palestinian leaders, the palestinian president mahmoud abbas apparently made some come promises in terms of his preconditions with the israelis. he said he would not call for an open settl

we extend our hand in peace and friendship to the palestinian people. >> what the palestinians would say is that words are not enough and we want to see action. mr. netanyahu, after weeks of difficult trading has come up with a new government. and in that government he has put into key positions when it comes to talking with the palestinians keep people who have made it clear they are not interested in the peace process and they're not interested in stopping the expansion of jewish settlement across the occupied west bank. palestinians say this is essential if talks are to resume. mr. obama will head to the west bank tomorrow. he will see the palestinian president tomak luta boss. he will bring the same message -- the bosnian president, mahmoud abbas. he will bring the same message, that it is time to get to the negotiating table. >> for more on what president obama hopes to accomplish on this visit, we spoke here every time ago to martin and dick, now director of the foreign-policy at brookings institution. for coming in. very cordial between the two men. do you think real differenc

a financial agent so it can control the palestinian people the palestinian authority does this for them jamal juma organizes regular demonstrations against the palestinian authority he says if there was one thing that would change his opinion it would be if he saw a real progress from palestinian israeli dialogue but the two sides haven't sat down together since september two thousand and ten many moderate palestinians are losing faith and looking across the border for inspiration is there more the this prayer of the more hamas will again if they don't believe in with a turn towards. this achieves with violence. what does not appear. to. have been to president abbas says he won't talk of tel aviv unless there's a freeze on israeli settlement construction something prime minister netanyahu won't agree on especially now in lieu of his new right wing coalition government the irony by refusing to talk with the p.a. netanyahu is hoping squinting israel's archenemy us what has that in the position of hamas and all opposition and palestine is the failure of war still. remember that twenty year

we seek an independent, viable palestinian state as the homeland of the palestinian people. alongside the jewish state of israel. two nations enjoying self- determination, security, and peace. as i've said many time, the only way to achieve that goal is through direct negotiations between israelis and palestinians themselves. aere is no short cut to sustainable solution. in ours discussion with president abbas, i heard him speak about the differently issues that cannot be ignored. byng them, problems caused settlement activity, access to wholly sites in jerusalem. i understand the status quo isn't a status quo because the situation on the ground evolves in a direction that makes it harder to reach a two state solution. i know the palestinian people are deeply frustrated. one of my main messages today, the same i'm conveying in israel, we cannot give up. we can't give up on the search for peace, no matter how hard it is. as i said with prime minister netanyahu yesterday, we will continue to look for steps that israel and palestinians can take to build the trust on which lasti

or the palestinian state or this visit is just for supporting israel they're not considering the palestinians at all we don't welcome a bomber in palestine he's a partner in killing us palestinians there are prisoners who are on hunger strike in israeli prisons and he doesn't care about them or about this nation. the united states is standing against any attempts to move the peace process forward the last one was the american veto and they refused to let us be part of the united nations this american government that supports terrorism globally they're killing the syrian nation and the african nations and all around the world. this coming on the second day of the american president barack obama's visit to the region certainly a bamma so far is speaking primarily to the israeli public and he admitted as much last night after he met with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu he said that his goal is to talk to the israelis he's spoken about the importance of israeli security and he's also committed american financial assistance to israel particularly in terms of military programs beyond two

tear gas and stun grenades israeli police clashed with crowds of angry palestinians rallying against the occupation of their land r t was that the flashpoint on the west bank border when the protests turned violent. it goes from bad to worse in cyprus where many are lucky to see more than half of the savings wiped out overnight as the e.u. demands an unprecedented rate on bank deposits in exchange for a bailout to rescue the country's failing economy. on top of the bay detainees press on with their weeks long hunger strike as lawyers for the inmates claim many and their deaths door as a result of their protest. international news and comment twenty four hours a day this is just. well there's been violence thousands of palestinians took poets who walk to school the land today randi israeli security forces clashed with demonstrators on the west bank border crossing using tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd when you were gathering commemorates an event almost three decades ago used rail announced it would seize for settlements and suing protests six palestinians were killed

palestinian territories. he got several standing ovations, many rounds of sustained applause, but this is a speech that went to an appreciative audience. he told them first of all for his unending support for israelis, the state of israel, and their quest for freedom but he told the young israelis, try to put yourself in the shoes of palestinians, try to see their world in their eyes. in the same way he told is really is you were able to establish a state in your homeland, the palestinians should also feel free in their land. was not just this possible, it is just common necessary, and involved compromises, most of all when it came to the issue of settlement building and trying to give a critic and trying to give palestinians their own state. havee hall and outside, we this report. >> after a visit that had thus far been high on imagery, the president's speech had been eagerly awaited. his audience, mostly made up of it is really college students, had that president obama lockley and their achievements, conde

he needs to get the palestinians on side too. that's a very important point that i think needs to be made. as for what peace could look like, two-state solution is what everybody pays lip service to and probably is the only realistic solution to a long-term, long-term peaceful solution. that's why it's so important. the issue that we began to mention earlier on andrea's show just before, was the question of the demographic change. if there is no two-state solution, and the dramatic change in demographic balance between jews and arabs, between the jordan river and mediterranean sea, becomes a key factor for the future. ineffectively, it will become one state. if there is no two states, then it will become one state. will the majority of arabs run by a majority of jews. that will change the nature of israeli society and probably make israel less popular in the united states because after all, we support, americans support, a democracy. minority ruling a majority of arabs is not something -- that's not what we signed up for. so two-

we seek an independent, viable and contiguous palestinian state as the home land of the palestinian peoplestate of israel, two nations enjoying self-determination, security, and peace. as i've said many times, the only way to achieve that goal is through direct negotiations between israelis and palestinians themselves. there is no short cut to a sustainable solution. in our discussion with president abbas, i heard him speak out about the difficult issues that cannot be ignored. among them, problems caused by continued settlement activity, the plight of palestinian prisoners, and access to holy sites in jerusalem. i understand that the status quo is really a status quo because the situation on the ground continues to evolve in a direction that makes us harder to reach a two-state solution. and i know that the palestinian people are deeply frustrated. so one of my main messages today, the same message i'm conveying in israel, is that we can not give up. we can not give up on the search for peace, no matter how hard it is. as i said with prime minister netanyahu yesterday, we will continue to