"The Middle East has a way of imposing itself on American presidents and their administrations. Just ask President Joe Biden. With six phone calls to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calls with Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, he understood, whatever his hopes, that his personal involvement was necessary to help produce the ceasefire. And, while a trip to the Middle East had not been on his agenda at this time, Secretary [...]

"Biden’s team felt keeping to the European itinerary was better for the administration’s agenda in the long run and for the conflict in the short run. "'If Blinken had gone [to the region], it actually would’ve slowed things down,' said Dennis Ross, a distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, because neither Hamas nor Israel would’ve wanted to look like it was caving to the US…" Read the full article here: Full Article

"President Biden has now said he would welcome a cease fire in this week-long war. But for the moment, there appears no clear path to a pause in the violence, and the long-term outlook for the region may be even murkier. "'Right now, the sense of possibility on both sides is probably at its low point,' according to Ambassador Dennis Ross…" Read the full article here: Full Article

"Dennis Ross, a veteran Middle East peace negotiator who served on the National Security Council during the Obama administration, said the developments 'no doubt' add to pressure on Israel. "But he said the decision to greenlight the strike likely represented a calculated Israeli message to Hamas and other terror groups 'that Israel will do what it thinks it must and will not be constrained by criticism…'" Read the full article here: Full Article