Q+A: Middle East challenges Obama despite Israeli halt

(Reuters) - Israel called off its military offensive in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, but the twin challenges of rebuilding Gaza and brokering Middle East peace remain for Barack Obama when he is sworn in as president on Tuesday.

HOW HAS THE UNITED STATES RESPONDED?

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice welcomed Israel's announced unilateral ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and said Washington expected all parties to halt hostile actions immediately.

"The goal remains a durable and fully respected ceasefire that will lead to stabilization and normalization in Gaza," she said. "The United States commends Egypt for its efforts and remains deeply concerned by the suffering of innocent Palestinians. We welcome calls for immediate coordinated international action to increase assistance flows and will contribute to such efforts."

WHAT HAS OBAMA SAID?

Obama and his team have avoided policy statements until after George W. Bush hands over power on Tuesday, saying the United States has only one president at a time.

"We cannot be sending a message to the world that there are two different administrations conducting foreign policy," he told reporters on Jan 7. "Until I take office, it would be imprudent of me to start sending out signals that somehow we are running foreign policy when I am not legally authorized to do so."

Obama was accused by critics of siding with Israel with his silence or failing to stand with the Jewish state as it sought to repel rocket attacks from the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Earlier this month, Obama broke his silence to call the loss of civilian lives in Gaza and in Israel a "source of deep concern."

WHAT MIGHT OBAMA DO?

Obama told a news conference on January 6 he would be prepared to address Middle East peacemaking as soon as he takes office. Many U.S. presidents have addressed the complex issue only later in their terms.

"I am doing everything that we have to do to make sure that the day that I take office we are prepared to engage immediately in trying to deal with the situation there," Obama said. "Not only the short-term situation but building a process whereby we can achieve a more lasting peace in the region."

Analysts say Obama might name a special envoy to the Middle East shortly after his inauguration in a sign of the importance he attaches to peacemaking.

"What I am doing right now is putting together the team so that on January 20, starting on Day One, we have the best possible people who are going to be immediately engaged in the Middle East peace process as a whole, that are going to be engaging with all of the actors there, that will work to create a strategic approach that ensures that both Israelis and Palestinians can meet their aspirations," Obama said in an ABC interview on January 11.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS OBAMA FACES?

Given the political divisions on both sides, a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- an issue that has bedeviled many U.S. presidents -- will be no easier for Obama.

The Palestinians are split between Hamas, which rules Gaza and remains officially committed to the destruction of Israel, and Fatah, which holds sway in the West Bank and whose leader, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, has spent more than a year engaged in U.S.-backed peace talks with Israel.

Israel holds an election on Feb 10, leaving it unclear who will lead the Jewish state and how committed the new leader may be to peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Obama must decide how deeply the United States should get involved in peace moves and whether it should take a harder line toward Israel, for example on halting settlement building in the West Bank.

His nominee for secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, whose confirmation is expected next week, has been a staunch supporter of Israel, which may give her more latitude to persuade Israeli officials to make concessions.

(Washington Newsroom; Editing by Peter Cooney)