Obama fulfils promise to get involved in Middle East from ‘day one’

Published Wednesday, January 21, 2009

By AP

An aide to the Palestinian president says President Barack Obama has called to express his commitment to achieving peace.

Wednesday’s call fulfills a promise by Obama to get involved in Mideast peacemaking from ‘day one’ of his presidency.

Presidential aide Saeb Erekat says Obama called President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday to say he hopes to work toward peace ‘in full partnership’ with the Palestinian leader.

Abbas governs in the West Bank, and is a rival to Hamas, which rules Gaza.

Israelis and Palestinians have eagerly followed Obama’s inauguration. On both sides, people are waiting to see how the new president faces his first international challenge – the fallout from Israel’s Gaza offensive, which ended over the weekend.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.

The page was last updated on: 14 January 2016 20:01