Barack Obama vowed to begin an effort to bring Israelis and Palestinians together, declaring neither to be strong enough on their own to make the concessions necessary for peace.
The democratic presidential contender said in Amman, Jordan on Tuesday that he would work to bring the two sides together "from the minute I'm sworn into office."
He met with Jordan's King Abdullah, following a tour of Afghanistan and Iraq with two U.S. senators.
Obama then went to Israel to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
In Jerusalem, he spoke of a "historic and special relationship between the United States and Israel, one that cannot be broken" -- and one that he hoped to strengthen as president.
Obama was scheduled as well to visit Sderot, a southern Israeli town frequently struck by Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza. He is making the stop because Sderot is a "place in which Israel's security is every day at risk and threatened," said his foreign policy adviser, Susan Rice.
"Sen. Obama will have the opportunity to see that first hand and get a very personal feel for the everyday (difficulties)," said Rice.
Obama's visit to Israel is important if he wants to build support among American-Jewish voters -- many of whom have questioned his commitment to Israel.
"If their doubts are not swayed this can easily reflect back to how they vote in key states like Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania," freelance journalist Jerrold Kessel told CTV from Israel on Tuesday.
He said there are also "lingering suspicions" among the Israeli public and political community about where Obama's "likely to go should he become president."
Many, especially among the Conservative elements in Israel, are hesitant over Obama's approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Obama believes it is the core regional problem and that other issues can only be tackled after it's dealt with, said Kessel.
Obama's rival, the Republican presidential candidate John McCain, holds the opposite view, said Kessel. McCain's position is that the issue of Islamic radicalism, especially in Iran, needs to be addressed before the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be solved, he said.
Obama will also meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah following his trip to Israel.
Afghanistan focus
Earlier Tuesday, Obama promised to expand Washington's attention beyond Iraq, if he is elected president of the United States.
"My job, as a candidate for president and potential commander-in-chief, extends beyond Iraq," Obama told reporters after landing in Jordan following, trips to both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Obama, who is supportive of a troop surge in Afghanistan, said all of the commanders there told him that two to three brigades would be "extraordinarily helpful" in allowing them to accomplish their goals.
"The only way we're going to get those troops over there in a meaningful way is if we're taking them from someplace else," said Obama.
The senator has said he sees the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan as the most important battle facing America.
Meanwhile, if elected president, Obama has promised to remove troops from Iraq over a 16-month period.
The White House, military leaders and many Baghdad residents credit last year's troop surge in areas around Iraq's capital with shifting the momentum.
However, Obama did not support the surge and has been attacked on his position by McCain.
"We don't know what would have happened if the plan that I put forward in January 2007 -- to put more pressure on the Iraqis to arrive at a political reconciliation, to begin a phased withdrawal -- (had been pursued)," Obama said Tuesday.
Obama did accept Tuesday that the troop surge did help quell violence in Iraq. However, he also credited the progress to a shift in allegiances among Sunni tribal leaders and a decision by militants loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr to stand down.
"Ultimately, whether or not we're going to have a functioning Iraq is largely going to depend upon the capacity of the Iraqi people to unify themselves, to get beyond some of the sectarian divisions that have plagued the country and to start setting up a government that is working for the people," said Obama.
With files from The Associated Press
