Jerusalem (CNN) -- U.S. President Barack Obama
arrived in Israel on Wednesday to launch a four-day swing through the
Middle East that focuses attention on major issues such as Iran's
nuclear progress and the Israel-Palestinian peace process.
Obama's first foreign
trip of his second term also was his first visit to Israel as president,
and aides said he wants to assess the status of the stalled peace
process and signal his administration's support for a crucial partner in
the volatile region.
At an arrival ceremony
where he was greeted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President
Shimon Peres, Obama told the Israeli people that the "United States is
proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and your greatest
friend."
"Across this region, the
winds of change bring both promise and peril," he said in Tel Aviv. "So I
see this visit as an opportunity to reaffirm the unbreakable bond
between our nations, to restate America's unwavering commitment to
Israel's security, and to speak directly to Israel and to your
neighbors."
In a quip to Netanyahu,
Obama said, "It is nice to get away from Congress," reflecting the
chronic political infighting in Washington.
Obama also will visit the
West Bank and Jordan on the trip, which comes as pressure increases on
his administration to increase support for the opposition in the civil
war in neighboring Syria.
Poll: Most Americans say Israel is a friend
Most Americans consider
Israel an ally or at least friendly to the United States, according to a
new CNN/ORC International poll released Tuesday. However, respondents
split evenly -- 49%-49% -- on whether the United States should support
Israel if it unilaterally attacks Iranian nuclear facilities to prevent
Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, the survey showed.
Obama's first stop Wednesday was at an Iron Dome missile defense launcher in Tel Aviv.
Designed by Israel and funded by the United States, the battery was deployed at the height of November's fighting between Israel and Hamas. It intercepted a rocket headed for Tel Aviv, Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren said.
Afterward, the president went to Jerusalem to meet separately with Peres and Netanyahu.
Concerns about Iran
As he prepared for this
trip, Obama told an Israeli TV station he believed there was still a
year or so before Iran reached the final development stage -- suggesting
he believes there is more time for diplomacy than Netanyahu would like.
On Tuesday, Peres
conceded his country may disagree at times with the White House over
Iran's nuclear progress. But he said he was "free of doubts" that Obama
would use military force if necessary to stop Tehran from developing a
nuclear bomb.
Netanyahu has voiced
concerns that Washington has a less urgent view of Iran's progress
toward developing a nuclear warhead, but has welcomed the
administration's more muscular language recently that "all options" are
on the table.
A shaky relationship
Obama's relationship
with Netanyahu has never been warm, and the Israeli prime minister
supported Republican challenger Mitt Romney -- a former business
colleague -- in last year's presidential election.
In his first term, Obama
got off to a rocky start with Netanyahu by pushing for a freeze on
Israeli settlements, but his vocal support for the Israeli prime
minister through the November crisis with Hamas and U.S. financial
support for the Iron Dome anti-missile program could pave the road for
greater trust in the relationship.
The Israeli-Palestinian dispute
White House officials
said Obama was not bringing a new peace initiative and lacked optimism
that enough solid ground existed to try to revive direct negotiations
between Israel and the Palestinians over the declared goal of both sides
for separate, neighboring states.
Most of all, the
president's aides said, Obama wanted to assess how prepared -- if at all
-- Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas were to return to
negotiations.
Palestinians want Obama
to prove there were consequences for Israel's continued construction of
new settlements in what they consider to be disputed areas.
Their grievances are
evident in more personal ways: Posters on Ramallah streets sarcastically
advise Obama not to bring his smartphone because Israel does not allow
3G or better service in the Palestinian territories.
Obama arrives in Israel for first visit as president.
