Biden’s risky Israel trip on a knife edge

The president’s visit comes as anger mounts in the region and puts the entire US strategy in the Middle East at risk.

James Politi and Felicia Schwartz

Oct 19, 2023 – 7.30am

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Washington | US President Joe Biden was betting that a whirlwind visit to the Middle East this week could help prevent the conflict between Israel and Hamas from spreading across the region, temper its ally’s response to the October 7 attacks and soothe fears in Arab capitals of a widening conflagration.

From the start, it was a diplomatic mission fraught with risk, and potential reward – and as Biden left Tel Aviv to fly back to Washington on Wednesday, he could not be certain that it had succeeded.

Financial Times