Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Israel on Tuesday to call for negotiations between Palestine and the Jewish state and to dissuadeIsraelis from unilateral military actions against Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah.
Calling the U.S.’s ties to Israel “unshakeable,” the Vice President arrives on the eve of indirect peace talks between Palestine and Israel, which mediate through American ambassadors in Ramallah. Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians’ chief negotiatior believes that this will be one of the last chances for a two state solution and that Palestinians are willing to yield a large part of the West Bank in exchange for a parcel of equivalent sized land.
Israel is hesitant to oblige Palestine because of their association with paramilitary groups. Mr. Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, wants to retain Israeli military presence on the country’s eastern borders. Ceding of land to Palestine would also require more than half a million Jews relocate.
Biden’s trip serves to mediate between the two states, but more than anything, its purpose is to back Israel’s confidence as a lone satellite in a constellation of extremism. Essentially, Biden as figurehead, is attempting to quell the Israeli fear of Iran’s nuclear program. The best way to determine the kind of job he is doing is by following the peace talks, the first in over a year, over the course of the next few months.
