Quds city (JERUSALEM), July 23, SPA -- Barack Obama held talks with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak Wednesday as the Democratic White House hopeful began a day of meetings in Israel and the Palestinian territories on the latest leg of his international campaign trail. Obama, who later met with opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, did not take questions from reporters after the meeting as he posed for news cameras the hotel where he is staying. In the afternoon, Obama was due to meet with Palestinian leaders, including President Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. He was then expected to fly by helicopter to Sderot, a southern Israeli town. "Sen. Obama looks very much forward to getting the perspectives and the insights of key leaders both in the Israeli government as well as the Palestinian Authority, and he'll see leaders of all political stripes, including the opposition," said Susan Rice, senior foreign policy adviser to Obama's campaign. Obama will return to Jerusalem on Wednesday evening to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Obama has already visited Jordan, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq.
