미국 대통령 버락 오바마가 이스라엘을 방문하고 있는 가운데 21일 (현지시간) 팔레스타인 무장조직 하마스가 이스라엘 남부에 로켓공격을 감행했다.
현지 경찰이 발표한 바에 따르면 하마스가 통치하고 있는 가자지구에서 남부 이스라엘 스데롯 마을에 로켓 두 발을 발사했다고 한다. 이 중 한발은 오전 7시경 한 가정에, 또 한발은 들판에 떨어졌으며 사상자는 없었다.
이 지역은 오바마가 대선 후보이던 지난 2008년 방문한 곳이다.
집권 후 처음으로 이스라엘을 방문 중인 오바마 대통령은 이번 방문을 통해 집권 1기 내내 껄끄러웠던 베냐민 네타냐후 총리와의 유대를 강화하는데 노력했다.
그는 이스라엘의 미사일 방어 시스템인 ‘아이언 돔’을 시찰한 데 이어 시오니즘 이론가인 시어 도르 헤르츨의 묘와 ‘사해의 서’ 박물관 등도 방문했다.
그는 이어 팔레스타인 서안지구를 방문할 예정이다. 그는 이스라엘과 팔레스타인 사이의 평화협정 재개를 위해 양측을 설득할 것으로 알려졌다. (코리아헤럴드)
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Rockets hit Israel as Obama to meet Palestinians
On the second day of a Mideast tour, U.S. President Barack Obama is set to emphasize the importance of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, a message underscored Thursday when Palestinian militants in Gaza launched rockets into southern Israel.
After a visit to Israel's national museum _ where he was inspecting the Dead Sea Scrolls, which highlight the Jewish people's ancient connection to the land that is now Israel _ Obama will head to the West Bank to tell the Palestinians that the creation of a Palestinian state remains a priority.
He is not bringing a new plan to relaunch peace talks, but in meetings with the Palestinians and a speech to Israeli students later in the day, he will appeal to both sides to halt unilateral actions that make negotiations more difficult.
Those troublesome actions include continued construction of Jewish housing settlements on land claimed by the Palestinians and repeated Palestinian efforts to achieve recognition at the United Nations in the absence of a peace agreement.
On Wednesday, Obama reaffirmed the unwavering U.S. commitment to Israel's security and noted there had been no fatal attacks on Israelis from the West Bank, which is controlled by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
That calm has not extended to Gaza, which is run by the militant Islamic Hamas movement. As Obama began his program Thursday, Israeli police said militants in Gaza had fired two rockets at the southern town of Sderot.
One of the rockets exploded in the courtyard of a house in Sderot early in the morning, causing damage but no injuries, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. The other landed in an open field. Sirens wailed in Sderot shortly after the 7 a.m. rocket attack, forcing residents on their way to work or school to run to bomb shelters.
As a presidential candidate in 2008, Obama visited the border town, which is frequently targeted by rocket attacks from the nearby Gaza Strip. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Over the past decade, Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets and mortar shells at Israel, prompting Israel, with considerable U.S. assistance, to develop its Iron Dome missile defense system, which it credits with intercepting hundreds of rockets.
Immediately after his arrival in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured an Iron Dome battery at Ben Gurion International Airport in a vivid display of U.S. security assistance to Israel.
Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007 after ousting the rival Palestinian Fatah group in bloody street fighting. Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, led by Abbas, now govern only part of the West Bank. (AP)
