Aside from taking a few small steps to reorient the U.S. position away from the heavily pro-Israel tilt it took under Trump — including restoring some modest aid to the Palestinians — Biden and his team are signaling that the conflict is simply not a priority.
Given that the Israelis are sorting through the results of a messy election, the Palestinians have an election coming up, and Biden is tackling challenges such as an increasingly acrimonious relationship with China, officials and analysts who watch the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can understand the reluctance to wade into it now.
Still, some warn that by de-prioritizing the issue or moving too slowly, Biden could be putting a two-state solution out of reach, especially if Israel keeps expanding its settlements in territory claimed by the Palestinians.
“The Biden administration is not setting itself up to be the midwife of a Palestinian state,” said Khaled Elgindy, director of the Program on Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs at the Middle East Institute. “They’re just not pursuing this with any degree of priority or urgency, and that would be required if you’re going to push for a Palestinian state.”
Top Biden aides have said they can’t pursue a peace deal when neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis appear ready for serious conversations.
“The only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish, democratic state and to give the Palestinians a state to which they are entitled is through the so-called two-state solution,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during his confirmation hearing in January. He added, however: “I think realistically it’s hard to see near-term prospects for moving forward on that.”
A terrain made tougher by Trump
If any president could manage a Mideast peace breakthrough, you’d think it’d be Biden.
Having served decades in the Senate, then as Obama’s vice president, Biden is better versed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than most of his modern predecessors.
Biden also has relationships with key figures in the conflict, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That relationship has survived serious strains, including Netanyahu’s attempts to undermine Obama’s Iran policy, his support for Israeli settlements and his public fawning over Trump. Biden took his time before talking to Netanyahu once he became president, and Biden’s supporters have said the Israeli leader has some “atoning to do.” Yet, Biden also has said in the past that he once told Netanyahu, using his…
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