Amos Ben Gershom / Israeli Government via EPA
President Barack Obama with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) inspect a display of Dead Sea Scrolls at a museum in Jerusalem, Thursday.
By John Newland, Staff Writer, NBC News
President Barack Obama faced a mixed reception Thursday as he arrived in the West Bank on the second day of his first official visit to Israel.
Obama was greeted cordially by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas after his helicopter touched down in Ramallah.
There was little chat as the two leaders strolled down a red carpet to stand on a podium and hear a military band playing national anthems.
Both men bore solemn faces as they were led by a sword-carrying officer to review a small group of Palestinian troops before walking inside and out of camera range.
Obama is expected to offer reassurance to Abbas that the U.S. supports the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
However,?little progress on the peace process?is expected during the trip.?
During his visit to Israel, President Obama said a diplomatic solution is still possible in dealing with a nuclear Iran. When addressing Israeli-Palestinian peace prospects, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel remains "fully committed to peace." NBC's Chuck Todd reports.
On Tuesday in Ramallah, Palestinian police scuffled with scores of demonstrators protesting Obama's visit, and?two rockets?that may have been a show of protest were fired into southern Israel early Thursday.
Obama began the second day of his trip with some virtual time travel. After viewing the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls, Obama toured a technology exhibition at the Israel Museum to have a look at cutting-edge products being developed in the country, including a potentially revolutionary battery that uses air and water to release energy stored in aluminum. The makers say it could power a car that would have to stop only for occasional water fill-ups.
Obama seemed to show great interest in the battery, as well as some of the other new technologies on display, and despite the tensions surrounding his visit, he managed to interject a bit of humor.
He watched intently as a robot nicknamed "the snake," developed at Israel's prestigious Technion institute to help rescue workers reach nooks and crannies where people are trapped, began wriggling on the display table.
"My wife would not like this," he said.
He seemed less interested in some exhibits than others. While viewing the "Mobileye" system designed to warn drivers of imminent roadway dangers, he asked if the system would frequently produce loud beeps as it did in the exhibition hall and speculated that it could be an irritant.
The president appeared eager to move on when asked if would watch a further demonstration of the device.
"Oh," he said, before politely standing, arms-crossed, and watching a developer operate a driving simulator. The president joked that that the developer was "a bad driver" before strolling off.
Related:
Obama says 'still time' for diplomacy with Iran
Israel walls off the Arab Spring
On the Brink: Palestinians,?Israelis?lukewarm on visit
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This story was originally published on Thu Mar 21, 2013 4:53 AM EDT
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