When US President Joe Biden cited his foreign policy priorities in a speech to Congress two weeks ago, he avoided any mention of Israelis and Palestinians.
For some, That reflected a reality: Biden is more focused on issues such as climate change, China, Russia, Iran or emigration from Central America, than on seeking a solution to a conflict in the Middle East that lasts over time.
After all, his four predecessors in the White House foiled their promises or actual efforts to reach a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.
Since taking office in January, Biden has not even nominated a U.S. ambassador to Israel, nor a consul general in Jerusalem for the Palestinians.
But the escalation of violence among Israelis and Palestinians this week, with dozens killed and warnings from the United Nations about the risk of a “full-scale war” in the Middle East, raised to an unexpected challenge for Washington, according to experts.
“That it happened this way and escalated so quickly I think is a surprise” for the Biden administration, says Nathan Brown, an expert on The Middle East at George Washington University, to BBC Mundo.
Now many wonder what role the US, Israel’s key ally, will play in this crisis.
An effective third party?
After two days of escalating violence in the Middle East and various questions about his policy, Biden p He seemed to take a more active position in the last hours.
The president spoke on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone and “conveyed his unwavering support to Israel’s security and Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself, “the White House reported.
During the conversation, Biden also” condemned the rocket attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups, including against Jerusalem Alén and Tel Aviv, ”the official statement said.
“My hope is that we will see this come to a conclusion sooner rather than later,” the president later told reporters.
On the same Wednesday, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spoke by telephone separately with Netanyahu and with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas , to discuss the situation and call for an end to the violence, said his spokesman.
Blinken also dispatched his deputy undersecretary for Israeli and Palestinian affairs, Hady Amr, “immediately” to the region to meet with leaders of both parties.
However, repeatedly questioned by journalists about what the US can do apart from calling for a reduction in tensions, Blinken maintained in his script, without mentioning possible exit routes .
Washington has indicated that it maintains diplomatic contacts with countries in the region such as Egypt, Jordan and Qatar.
However, for now none of this seems effective to stop the violence.
The UN Security Council held its second meeting of emergency this week to analyze the crisis.
But both meetings ended without a joint statement being issued, according to different reports due to the reluctance of the US .
Howard Stoffer, a former member of the US foreign service who served for years on the UN Security Council, believes that “in the absence of a government not strong in Israel and in the Palestinian Authority, the violence will continue unless a third party “manages to mediate successfully.
” And I’m not sure that the Americans are considered an effective third as before, because the role that the US played in the four years of the Trump government was very partial in favor of Israel, “Stoffer tells BBC Mundo.
Alternatives?
For now, Biden has changed only part of Trump’s policy in the Middle East, for example by reestablishing economic aid and diplomatic relations with the Palestinians cut off by his predecessor.
However, remain in force other controversial measures of the Trump administration that symbolized his unprecedented support to Israel, including the passage of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Trump also made Washington stop considering Israel’s settlements in the West Bank illegal, moving away from the dominant position in the co international community, and promoted with Netanyahu a plan for the Middle East that the Palestinians rejected as a “conspiracy” against them.
Since its inception, the Biden government has expressed its intention to resume a more traditional position of the US that included support for a “two-state solution” for Israelis and Palestinians.
But different analysts They believe that in the last four months Washington has shown little interest in promoting a peace agreement in the region.
“I realize that the administration has lowered priority to the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian issue. But the lack of an ambassador to Israel and a consul general in Jerusalem is a serious problem during a crisis, ”Aaron David Miller, former US negotiator for the region, tweeted Tuesday.
Both Israeli and Palestinian officials have criticized the positions of the Biden government in recent days, considering them unfavorable to their interests.
In turn, within the Biden Democratic Party a left wing more inclined to the Palestinians and to demand pressure on Israel, for example in relation to the settlements.
“Just by intervening to name the Hamas’s actions, which are reprehensible, and refusing to recognize the rights of the Palestinians, Biden reinforces the misconception that the Palestinians instigated this cycle of violence. This is not a neutral language. Take one side, the side of the occupation, “Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocaso-Cortez tweeted on Wednesday.
Instead, the Republican opposition had accused Biden of subtracting from him. I support Israel , which is suspicious of the US intention to refloat the nuclear pact with Iran buried by Trump.
Brown, the George University expert Washington believes that the Biden administration has assumed that the policy of promoting a two-state solution “has come to an end”, but they lack an option to raise instead.
“So , if the old politics is gone and there is no real alternative, I think what they really want to do is focus on other things, like Iran , ”he notes.
“The main objective of the policy,” he argues, “is simply to keep the situation contained and make sure it does not get worse.”
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