US policies strengthen Benjamin Netanyahu – whose political preference in the short term is an open-ended war, not a deal
The Biden administration remains in an intense phase of Middle East diplomatic activity working to avoid a regional war while optimistically spinning the prospects for a Gaza breakthrough deal.
Following the latest round of provocative Israeli extrajudicial killings in Tehran and Beirut and the intensified exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah over the weekend, the region appeared to lurch further in the direction of all-out war. Preventing that is a worthy cause in itself.
Daniel Levy is the president of the US/Middle East Project and a former Israeli peace negotiator