Biden's hopes for the Middle East imperiled by eruption of violence
Middle East for a new era. But the old Middle East, it turns out, still has something to say about it.
The stunning Hamas assault on Israel on Saturday served as a gut-wrenching reminder that the decades-old conflict with Palestinians remains a cancer that has not gone away even as leaders in Washington, Jerusalem, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab capitals would prefer to focus on building a revamped region.
U.S. officials said it was too early to say whether the attack was explicitly motivated by a desire by Hamas or its patron Iran to disrupt President Joe Biden's effort to broker a landmark deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia that would profoundly reorient the Middle East. But they acknowledged that it could complicate the already delicate negotiations and make it that much harder to reach an agreement akin to the Abraham Accords between Israel and smaller Arab nations.
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«This will slow considerably if not kill the Saudi Abraham Accords deal,» said Mara Rudman, a former Middle East peace diplomat under President Barack Obama. «It strikes at the heart of key elements for Saudi entry, a pathway forward for Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza,» she added. «And on the Israeli side, there will be zero appetite across a wide political spectrum for helping Palestinians, despite the fact that so doing could actually enhance, not detract from, Israeli security.»
US 'unequivocally' condemns attacks on Israel by 'Hamas terrorists'
In the short term, at least, Biden's sweeping aspirations will have to take a back seat to managing the clash now consuming
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