Israeli security and the American Secret Service on Wednesday decided to cancel visiting US presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s scheduled visit to the Gaza border region for fear of Palestinian snipers.
Obama did visit the rocket-battered southern Israel town of Sderot, and was to follow up his time there by meeting with Israeli army commanders atop a lookout point into the northern Gaza Strip, reported Israel’s Yediot Ahronot.
But despite a ceasefire in the area, Palestinian snipers have continued to take occasional potshots at Israeli farms and soldiers, and security officials feared they may try to perpetrate a high-profile attack by harming Obama.
While visiting Sderot and listening to stories of the thousands of Palestinian rocket attacks against the city, Obama declared that he too would do anything to bring a halt to such attacks against his home.