President Biden's Middle East Comments Raise More Questions Than Answers

In an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, President Biden made his most wide-ranging comments on the Middle East of his presidency and his commentary raises more questions than answers. 

Biden made a point of describing some members of Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government as "extreme" and stated they were "part of the problem" with regard to recent violence caused by Palestinian terrorists in Jenin which prompted a raid by the IDF last week which lasted about 48 hours.

But the violence in Jenin began in earnest last year while Israel's coalition government between Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid (supported by Arab List MK Mansour Abbas, who is a Palestinian) was still in power. So, if the violence predates these "extreme" members of the coalition coming to power, then how can they be assigned blame for causing the violence?

Now it is true that Biden ceded the Palestinians had "extreme elements", but he did not attribute that extremism to the Palestinian Authority itself. Biden did say the Palestinian Authority "had lost its credibility." But in order for that statement to be true, the Palestinian Authority would have to had credibility in the first place. When does Biden think the Palestinian Authority ever credible? Mahmoud Abbas' term as Palestinian Authority President expired nearly 15 years ago when Biden became Vice-President and yet Abbas remains in office and Biden (nor anyone else) says boo about it. Let me put it another way, the violence in Jenin does not happen without the approval of the Palestinian Authority. 

Zakaria also asked Biden about the prospects for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Biden replied normalization was a "long way" off. But he made a point of stating it "depends upon the conduct and what is asked of us for them to recognize Israel.” Whose conduct? Israel? Saudi Arabia? Both? It isn't very clear. But given that Biden acknowledges it is a long way off there's a good chance these questions won't be answered and that this will land the in the lap of Biden's successor whenever the time comes.