President-elect Barack Obama Monday expressed concern about
the Gaza crisis but stressed he would not interfere in "delicate
negotiations" by the outgoing US administration.
Asked about whether Israel's offensive against Hamas was
distracting him from his economic agenda, Obama told reporters
"obviously, international affairs are of deep concern."
"I strongly believe that a president or president-elect
or his team should be able to do more than one thing at a
time. With the situation in Gaza, I've been getting briefed
every day," he said.
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Obama has faced criticism for his silence on the Middle East
violence, especially in the Arab world and European press.
It adds to the huge challenges awaiting him when he succeeds
President George W. Bush on January 20.
But the president-elect stressed: "I will continue to
insist that when it comes to foreign affairs, it is particularly
important to adhere to the principle of one president at a
time, because there are delicate negotiations taking place
right now and we can't have two voices coming out of the United
States when you have so much at stake."
