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 04 Jun Obama seeks new beginning for US in key speech
President Barack Obama (pictured) today said the "cycle of suspicion and discord" between the United States and the Muslim world must end.
Delivering a keynote speech in Cairo, Obama called for a "new beginning" in ties.
He admitted there had been "years of distrust" and said both sides needed to make a "sustained effort... to respect one another and seek common ground".
Obama said the US bond with Israel was unbreakable but described the Palestinians' plight as "intolerable".
He made a number of references to the Koran and called on all faiths to live together in peace.
He received a standing ovation at the end of his speech at Cairo University.
Ealier, White House officials had said Obama’s speech was intended to start a process to "re-energise the dialogue with the Muslim world".
Obama said: "I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect."
He said "violent extremists" had bred fear and that this "cycle of suspicion and discord must end".
He said America was not at war with Islam, but would confront violent extremists who threatened its security.
Turning to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Obama said the bond with Israel was "unbreakable".
He said: "Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong." But he also said the "situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable".
"Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's," Obama said.
On the key issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Obama said "there can be no progress towards peace without a halt to such construction".
Israel is resisting calls to freeze building activity but Palestinian leaders have said there can be no progress towards peace without a halt.
After the speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned ministers to a special meeting and ordered aides and officials not to comment until a government statement was released.
The statement said the Israeli government hoped the speech "will indeed lead to a new era of reconciliation between the Arab and Muslim world and Israel".
A spokesman for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said the speech was a "good start and an important step towards a new American policy".
On the Iranian nuclear issue, Obama said: "No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons" and said Iran had the right to peaceful nuclear power. But he said there should be no nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
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