US for independent Palestinian state

Ramallah (West Bank): President Barack Obama has said on a visit to the West Bank that the US is "deeply committed" to creating a sovereign state of Palestine. Speaking after talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, he said Israeli settlement activity was not "appropriate for peace". Secretary of State John Kerry would, he added, devote time and energy to trying to bring the two sides closer. Abbas said the talks in Ramallah had been "good and useful". However, Palestinian expectations of Obama's visit have been low, analysts say. The three-day visit is Obama's first to Israel and the West Bank as president. After his meeting with Abbas, which lasted slightly longer than scheduled, he said there were "irritants" on both sides but that direct negotiations were the best solution for Israel and the Palestinians. "The Palestinian people deserve an end to occupation and the daily indignities that come with it," he said in Ramallah. On the troubled proposal for a two-state solution, Obama said: "I absolutely believe that it is still possible but I think it is very difficult. "Put simply, Palestinians deserve a state of their own," he said. He accepting the two sides had strong disagreements, but urged them to pursue an agreement nonetheless, saying: "I think we can keep pushing through some of these problems and make sure that we don't use them as an excuse not to do anything."