US President Barack Obama has arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Meeting Mr Obama off his helicopter, Mr Abbas took him to his presidential compound for talks likely to focus on the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The American leader is spending a few hours in Ramallah and Palestinian expectations are low, analysts say.
On his first visit as US president, Mr Obama vowed strong support for Israel.
"Start Quote
End QuoteMr Obama has gone out of his way to make Israel feel loved, and he may just expect something in return"
At talks on Wednesday, the US leader and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict
Speaking in Jerusalem, Mr Obama said a central element of securing a lasting peace in the Middle East "must be a strong and secure Jewish state where its security concerns are met, alongside a sovereign and independent Palestinian state".
Two rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel on Thursday morning, Israeli officials say, but there were no reports of anyone being hurt. A further two rockets fired from Gaza reportedly fell inside Gaza itself.
Mr Abbas condemned "violence against civilians, whatever its source, including the firing of rockets", according to a Palestinian spokesperson.
Continue reading the main story 'Intolerable'The US leader is being accompanied in Ramallah by his Secretary of State, John Kerry.
Mr Obama was met in Ramallah by Palestinian officials as about 150 protesters were kept away from the Palestinian president's compound by police.
A banner hung out at the Bab al Shams Palestinian protest camp in Jerusalem read: "Obama: you promised hope and change, you gave us Colonies and Apartheid."
The BBC's Jon Donnison in Ramallah says the West Bank meeting could prove a difficult corner to turn, after Mr Obama also declared that the US was Israel's strongest ally.
Analysis
President Obama is coming to Ramallah by helicopter for meetings with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank at the presidential headquarters, the Muqata. The prisoners' minister will hand him a letter from Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails. Mr Obama will then briefly visit a youth centre here to see a project funded by USAID.
There is deep disappointment among Palestinians that Mr Obama has not done more to support their bid for an independent state. PLO official Nabil Shaath suggests he "won the hearts of Palestinians" in his 2009 Cairo speech when he said "the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states" but laments the president's "lack of determination" to bring about negotiations.
Palestinians want to show Mr Obama how the rapid expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank threatens to fatally undermine a two-state solution to the conflict with Israel. However they do not expect to achieve much during his few hours here.
Palestinians have been disappointed with the American leader and expectations are low, our correspondent says.
In a 2009 speech in Cairo, Mr Obama called the situation for Palestinians "intolerable" and spoke of their undeniable suffering in pursuit of a homeland.
Since then, however, little has changed on the ground as the Middle East's most intractable conflict has been sidelined by the Arab Spring, and US-Israeli concern over Syria and Iran, our correspondent says.
Following the talks in Jerusalem, Mr Netanyahu said his new government, sworn in earlier this week, remained "fully committed to peace and the solution of two states".
"We extend our hands in peace and friendship to the Palestinian people," he said, adding that he hoped Mr Obama's visit would "turn a page" in relations with the Palestinians.
But the two leaders also said they agreed that Israel had the right to "defend itself by itself".
After his trip to the West Bank, Mr Obama is expected to deliver a speech to Israeli students in Jerusalem. He will leave for Jordan on Friday.
Barack Obama in Middle East
- Wednesday: Meets Benjamin Netanyahu
- Thursday: Meets Mahmoud Abbas, addresses Israeli students
- Friday: Visits Bethlehem's Church of Nativity and later departs for Jordan
Earlier on Thursday, the US leader visited the Israel Museum in Jerusalem with Mr Netanyahu to see the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Security for his three-day visit is tight, with thousands of Israeli and Palestinian security officers on duty in Jerusalem and Ramallah, the Palestinians' de facto capital.
Both Israeli and Palestinian groups have staged protests in the run-up to Mr Obama's visit.
There were clashes in Hebron in the West Bank between Israeli settlers and pro-Palestinian protesters, and in Gaza City protesters burned US flags outside UN offices.
Meanwhile, Israelis have staged protests in Jerusalem demanding Mr Obama free Jonathan Pollard, imprisoned in the US in 1987 for spying for Israel.
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