Analysis

As US-Israel relations gear up for a great reset, the Obama administration's parting shot may be the starting point for the Biden administration.

In four years, President Trump overturned decades of US policy in the Middle East. President Joe Biden may want to undo many of those changes, but his leeway will be limited.

Domestic constraints, support for Palestine and growing ties with Iran will likely continue to keep Pakistan and Israel apart.

Paradoxically, to do so he must convince the members of his own party in the Senate to eschew Trump’s impeachment. 

It's quite possible the election announcement was intended for the ears of the new tenant in the White House. Indeed, Biden’s administration will likely be more receptive to the well-rehearsed and false presentation of democracy Abbas will attempt to sell it.

It appears that Israel’s national religious public has realized that they cannot integrate into the country’s academic, economic, and governing elite while maintaining an isolationist political identity.

Why would the US Nimitz be ordered home, then sent back? Why is the US flying B-52 bombers over the Persian Gulf. Does all this mean that war is more likely?

Striking a deal with Saudi Arabia and the conservative Arab Gulf states will allow Qatar to become a moderating factor vis-à-vis Turkey Hamas and in the future, there is no reason for Jerusalem and Doha not to pursue rapprochement.

If the next US administration decides to return unconditionally to the Iran nuclear deal Gulf countries and Israel will be at great risk.

The fact that Iran could use Hezbollah, its Lebanese proxy, to attack Israel is a given. But how worried should Israel be about Iran's proxy in Yemen? The threat is not imminent but it cannot be discounted.