Israel’s February’s election will be an important one for Washington and the new Obama administration. Though the Likud Party is the more conservative, the Kadima Party, with which Bush has worked most recently, has promoted an accelerated “two state solution.” The Bush Administration has agreed with this approach. Critics say that because of President Bush’s handling of the situation and the current Gaza crisis, President-elect Obama will re-evaluate how he can bring change to this region of the Middle East and how it will be most practical to build up a Palestinian community alongside Israel. Even though President Bush had a huge amount of support for building a Palestinian community, his timing was off and his methods proved problematic.
President-elect Obama is looking to change the situation, especially with the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip. Critics believe Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud Party will also promote a different policy than Kadima and want to see Palestinian leadership and community develop before encouraging the establishment of a prosperous Palestinian state
