His Majesty King Abdullah II visited the White House last
week for an impromptu meeting with President Biden. The meeting was followed by
a regional tour conducted by Secretary Blinken where he met Egyptian,
Palestinian and Israeli leaders. Both visits appeared to share the same
objective; reduce tensions between Palestinians and Israelis amid an
unprecedented spike in violence. This isn’t the first time that leaders meet to
reduce tensions during outbreaks of hostilities between Palestinians and
Israelis, but they come at a time that is anything but usual, especially given
developments in Israel’s domestic politics and the trajectory of the country’s
politics.
اضافة اعلان
Netanyahu may have been jubilant by his return to the helm
of Israeli’s politics late last year and indeed his very political survival
following his ouster by a “anybody-but-Netanyahu” coalition in 2021.
Nonetheless, his victory may have been short-lived because he quickly came to
realize the near-impossible task before him of governing the most right-wing
government in Israel’s history. In many respects, Netanyahu may have finally
come to pay the price for pioneering and regularly employing populist politics
in the 21st century and over his altogether sixteen-years in power; he has
essentially created a monster that he and Israel’s political system will find
increasingly difficult to control.
For many an unknown reason, and unlike almost every US Administration in recent history, the Biden Administration never had a peace proposal for the Palestinians and Israelis.
Provocative action and policies taken by his government have
already created significant problems for Netanyahu and may have complicated
some of his ambitions. Heightened tensions with Jordan over Jerusalem
necessitated that he visits Amman and offer reassurances that there will be no
unilateral action in Jerusalem to undermine Jordan’s custodianship of Muslim
and Christian holy sites. President Biden also publicly and categorically
affirmed Jordan’s role in the historic city during His Majesty’s visit, making
it clear which side the US would back on the issue. In a similar vein, while
Netanyahu has made no secret that establishing diplomatic relations Saudi
Arabia would be a legacy-defining priority for his government, the makeup and
actions of his government have led Saudi Arabia to publicly distance itself
from any such eventuality, declaring that any normalization would not be
possible without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
For the time being, the best that can be hoped for may be that sustained engagement by the US can help steer us away from an all-out crisis.
Eventually, Netanyahu’s effort to manage his coalition will
run its course and either lead to widespread violence and instability and / or
his ouster leading to yet another a political crisis in Israel. Observers
suggest that levels of violence and tensions between Palestinians and Israelis
are still at an all-time high, suggesting that we are still at the precipice of
an all-out crisis. Crisis management efforts may not be as effective next time
around, especially if Israel continues to take action or toy with policies to
collapse the Palestinian Authority, annul the Oslo Accords, annex part or all
of the West Bank or change the status quo in Jerusalem.
For many an unknown reason, and unlike almost every US
Administration in recent history, the Biden Administration never had a peace
proposal for the Palestinians and Israelis. Despite this, it can still play a
critical role in crisis management by defusing tensions and reinforcing the
status quo, regardless of how rapidly declining it may be. Arab countries
continue to see tremendous bias and injustice in the US handling of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and believe that US commitment to the
increasingly faltering two-state solution is nothing more than lip service. Despite
this, US views of the conflict are evolving, albeit gradually. This is
evidenced by the level of public criticism that was leveled against the new
Israeli government in the US media and among US Jewish organizations.
For the time being, the best that can be hoped for may be
that sustained engagement by the US can help steer us away from an all-out
crisis. To draw parallels from the Obama Administration, a New York Times
investigation had uncovered that US officials had maintained a stream of visits
to Israel that they jokingly referred to as “Bibi-sitting” in order to ensure
that he would not order strikes against Iran. A similar approach may be needed
to keep him from throwing the region further into disarray.
Read more Opinion and Analysis
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