The fighting that has erupted between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip will push up the Middle East to the top of the Obama agenda, at a time when President-elect Barack Obama would prefer to focus almost exclusively on the U.S. economy.

Barack Obama will be seeking to improve the public image of the United States in the Arab and Muslim world, which has severely deteriorated during the Bush presidency. He must also demonstrate traditional political support for Israel. His public stance on the issue of Hamas firing rockets from Gaza into Israel elicited the following comment from Barack Obama:

“If somebody was sending rockets into my house, where my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that,” … “And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.”

Will Obama be able to show that he can be a balanced American president in addressing the Arab-Israeli conflict, or will he be perceived as too pro-Israeli by the Arab world? The fighting between the Israelis and Palestinians has truly come at a challenging time for the incoming Obama administration.