Violence in Israel Challenges Biden’s ‘Stand Back’ Approach

The president came to office seeing little opportunity to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He may now be forced to get more involved.

WASHINGTON — President Biden took office in January with little interest in pursuing an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, for understandable reasons. President Bill Clinton hosted an Israeli-Palestinian summit during his first year in the White House. President Barack Obama appointed a Middle East peace envoy on his second full day in office. And before his swearing-in, Donald J. Trump vowed to secure an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal “which no one else has managed to get.” All of them failed to achieve a peace deal, as did President George W. Bush, who took up the cause later in his presidency.