AMMAN, JORDAN - As Barack Obama heads into the world's most complicated region in a bid to establish his foreign-policy credentials as a presidential hopeful, Israelis and Palestinians are voicing a mixture of hope, skepticism and curiosity.

The Democratic senator from Illinois, who arrives in Jordan today from visits to Iraq and Afghanistan, has promised a new approach to U.S. diplomacy and a spirit of international healing, and both sides want to see him engage immediately on issues that divide the Middle East.

Many Palestinians worry that Obama will bend over backward in favoring Israel.

And many Israelis worry that the 46-year-old first-term senator with roots in liberal Chicago circles is naive when he talks about peace negotiations. They think he has yet to establish a deep understanding of complex issues, including Iran's ascendancy as a regional power.

"There is a general sense of concern in many Israeli circles that the United States is going through a period of reaction to the Iraq war and President Bush's past policies," said Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations.

Gidi Grinstein, who spent three years on former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's negotiating team with the Palestinians, said Israelis would ask two questions of Obama: "What are your red lines, and what are you willing to do if those red lines are not met?"

Mustafa Barghouti, an independent Palestinian Authority lawmaker, said the United States "is always taking stands that are biased towards Israel" and that Obama made the same mistake in comments last month to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Obama told the pro-Israel lobby in a speech in Washington that Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of Israel. It was red meat to the crowd but angered Palestinians, who have eyed East Jerusalem as their future capital.

Then came Obama's subsequent explanation that it was poor phrasing on his part. He said he meant that he never wanted to see the city divided by fences again and that it was up to the two sides to work out an agreement. That, in turn, turned off conservative Jews.

Many Palestinians see Obama as preferable to Republican Sen. John McCain and, even if Obama isn't entirely on their side, more likely to re-establish the U.S. role as "honest broker" in the region.

McCain didn't meet Palestinians on a visit to Israel last spring, but Obama will see Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayad in addition to Israeli officials.

Obama is getting advice from some respected Mideast negotiators, including Dennis Ross, a former top adviser to successive U.S. administrations, who will accompany him on the trip.

Avoiding mistakes

In the United States, Jewish, Muslim and Arab voters will be watching how the Middle East responds to Obama's visit.

"He has to do this trip, from a Jewish point of view, to demonstrate a depth of commitment," said Michael Dobkowski, a professor of religious studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y. "But what he says when he's there, and what the press asks him, if he answers, people are going to try to parse those words very carefully. If he doesn't make any mistakes, so to speak, for him I think that would be a victory, because it doesn't leave openings or create more doubt."

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