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Obama visits West Bank for talks with Mahmoud Abbas

Palestinians have expressed disappointment with the US leader

US President Barack Obama has arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinians have expressed disappointment with the US leader

Meeting Mr Obama off his helicopter, Mr Abbas took him to his presidential compound for talks likely to focus on the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The American leader is spending a few hours in Ramallah and Palestinian expectations are low, analysts say.

On his first visit as US president, Mr Obama vowed strong support for Israel.

The US leader and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict during talks on Wednesday.

Speaking in Jerusalem, Mr Obama said a central element of securing a lasting peace in the Middle East “must be a strong and secure Jewish state where its security concerns are met, alongside a sovereign and independent Palestinian state”.

Two rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel on Thursday morning, Israeli police say, but there were no reports of anyone being hurt.

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