Bulldozer in Jerusalem rampage before Obama visit

By Rebecca Harrison

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A Palestinian rammed a bulldozer into vehicles on a Jerusalem street on Tuesday before a visit by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who condemned the attack and pledged to push for a peace deal.

The attacker wounded at least 16 people, one seriously, before being shot dead just down the road from the hotel where Obama is due to stay. It was the second such incident in Jewish west Jerusalem in three weeks.

"Today's bulldozer attack is a reminder of what Israelis have courageously lived with on a daily basis for far too long," Obama told a news conference in Amman. "I strongly condemn this attack and will always support Israel in confronting terrorism and pursuing lasting peace and security."

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino called the rampage "an act of terrorism", adding that such attacks "do nothing to further the goals of Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace, a goal the president has been advocating for".

Obama, who was to fly to Israel later in the day, pledged to start working for a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks from his first day in office but said it was unrealistic to expect a U.S. president to "suddenly snap his fingers and bring about peace".

"The Israeli government is unsettled. The Palestinians are divided between Fatah and Hamas. And so it's difficult for either side to make the bold move that would bring about peace," Obama told reporters in Amman.

Obama discussed Israeli-Palestinian matters with King Abdullah of Jordan, who later extended the U.S. presidential candidate the rare courtesy of driving him personally onto the airport grounds in his car.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who faces a corruption probe that could force him from office, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who lost his hold on the Gaza Strip to Hamas Islamists a year ago, aim to reach a statehood agreement before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office in January.