On Monday, President-elect Barack Obama made his first comment about the situation in Gaza — ten days after Israel’s attacks began. Obama said he would not interfere in “delicate negotiations” by the outgoing Bush administration.

President-elect Barack Obama: “Obviously, international affairs are of deep concern. With the situation in Gaza, I’ve been getting briefed every day. I’ve had consistent conversations with members of the current administration about what’s taking place. That will continue. 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.”

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki criticized Obama’s position.

Riyad al-Maliki: “Disappointedly, President-elect Obama refused to comment on the situation in Gaza, despite the fact that he commented on the situation on the bombing in Mumbai, in India. And we expected him really to be open and responsive to the situation in Gaza, and still we expect him to make a strong statement regarding this as soon as possible.”