Biden Presidency, Palestine-Israel, and the Prospects for Peace
Let me be the spoiler and “party pooper”: It won’t. It will only be a continuation of what other US (Democrat and Republican alike) Administrations attempted to do, and failed over the past decades, as far as the Palestinians and peace are concerned.
This is not a “rejectionist” or “pessimistic” perspective as some might argue, it is in fact a view based on observing decades-long US failures and an informed judgment based on the views of Biden during his electoral campaign and during his eight-year long service as Vice President under Obama. The return to the “old normal” is neither good news for peace nor justice, let alone freedom and equality for the Palestinians. As the +972 Magazine team argues, “If anything, he [Biden] threatens a reversion to the old ways of Middle East policy, in which rhetoric favoring Palestinian rights is often little more than quotes in the newspapers, with no meaningful action”.
Certainly, Biden will neither be a saviour for the Palestinians, nor for peace, but likely he will be a saviour for the peace process (with the emphasis on the process). Let us be clear: this does not only apply for the Biden Presidency, but to all previous US Administrations. As the Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah argues, “Netanyahu’s words of welcome for Biden are sincere, because he knows the incoming American president will do all he can to deliver for Israel, just like every Democrat and every Republican before him”.
