The writer is a former US Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations, distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of the forthcoming book “Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy.”
US presidents have been trying to pivot away from the Middle East since Barack Obama’s first term. The Israeli-Palestinian crisis that erupted unexpectedly this week and escalated quickly to a Gaza-Israel conflict presents Joe Biden with the first test of whether he can succeed where Obama and Donald Trump failed.
President Biden has certainly made clear that his foreign policy priorities lie elsewhere. Countering the rise of an assertive China, standing up to Putin’s Russia, combating global warming, halting Iran’s nuclear programme and treating the global pandemic are the focus of his administration’s attention.