APTOPIX MIDEAST ISRAEL PALESTINIANS OBAMA

U.S. Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., right, is presented with an “I Love Sderot” T-shirt with a rocket in a heart by Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal as they stand in front of a display of rockets that landed in southern Israel, during a visit to Sderot, southern Israel, Wednesday, July 23, 2008. Obama pledged Wednesday that as president he would preserve the close ties between the United States and Israel, and that the Jewish state’s security would be a top priority in his administration.(AP Photo/Rina Castelnuovo, Pool)