Barack Obama: I Will Not Waste a Minute in Brokering Middle East Peace

Barack Obama today pledged to "not waste a minute" in tackling the Middle East conflict if elected president, Palestinian officials said.

The Democratic presidential hopeful made the commitment after meeting the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah in the West Bank.

Saeb Erekat, an aide to Abbas, said Obama was willing to immediately engage in peace efforts. "Obama confirmed to President Abbas that he will be a constructive partner in the peace process," he said, adding that Obama told Abbas he would "not waste a minute" if elected in November.

Obama talked to Palestinian leaders after earlier telling Israeli officials he wanted to be a partner in bringing peace to the region.

"I'm here on this trip to reaffirm the special relationship between Israel and the United States, my abiding commitment to its security, and my hope that I can serve as an effective partner, whether as a ... senator or as a president, in bringing about a more lasting peace in the region," he said.

Obama, an Illinois senator, described Israel as a "miracle that has blossomed" since its founding 60 years ago, after meeting the Israeli president, Shimon Peres.

Later, wearing a Jewish skullcap, he laid a white wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum.

"Let our children come here and know this history so that they can add their voices to proclaim 'never again'," Obama wrote in the museum's visitors' book.

Obama met the Israeli defence minister, Ehud Barak, and the opposition leader, Benjamin Netanyahu. He will also hold talks with the foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, and the prime minister, Ehud Olmert - who is fighting for his political survival amid accusations of corruption.

Obama, who faces John McCain in the November election, dismayed Palestinian leaders last month when he said Jerusalem should be Israel's "undivided" capital, even though no US government has recognized Israel's 1967 annexation of East Jerusalem, claimed by the Palestinians as their future capital.

Later, Obama said he used "poor phrasing" when he made the remarks. Palestinian officials said they did not bring up the Jerusalem remarks in their meeting with Obama. However, Kadoura Fares, an MP in Abbas' Fatah party, strongly criticized Obama's slip.

"His correction was not enough," Fares said. "He should have said he recognizes the Palestinian right to freedom."

Hamas, the Islamists who control Gaza, said Obama was not welcome and criticized Abbas for receiving him. "Obama wants to go to the White House through Tel Aviv, at the expense of the Palestinians," said Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman.

Abbas aides insist the Palestinian leader's meeting with Obama offered an important opportunity. Abbas listed Palestinian grievances, including Israel's continued settlement construction and refusal to ease restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the West Bank, said Erekat.

As part of his visit, Obama will stop in the Israeli town of Sderot, near the border with Gaza strip and the frequent target of rockets fired by Palestinian militants. The attacks have largely subsided since an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire took hold last month. McCain visited Sderot in March, but did not go to the West Bank.