Obama impresses Israelis, Palestinians

Israelis and Palestinians were in rare agreement after US presidential hopeful Barack Obama sped through an event-packed schedule: He makes a positive impression and says the things they want to hear, but his real audience is back home in America.

Obama spent a full day meeting leaders and appearing before cameras in all the sensitive places - Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, the town of Sderot with its collection of rockets fired from nearby Gaza and the headquarters of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Before dawn yesterday in Jerusalem, Obama paid a visit to the holiest place in Judaism, bowing his head in prayer at the Western Wall and pushing a small note into a crevice in the ancient wall, a custom that is observed by many. Soon after, Obama departed for Germany.