Mohey Mowafy, Journal op-ed contributor

President Biden needs to focus more on the Middle East.

Shortly after President Joe Biden came to office, the United States completed its inept withdrawal from Afghanistan, a country that Washington had spent 20 years trying and failing to bring into the Western fold.

The withdrawal was necessary, while it can easily be argued that the way it was done was inept, at best. That certainly had a significant effect on basically all countries in the Middle East as they tried to recalibrate their relationships with Washington.

I believe it safe to think that we are all on the same page vis-a-vis the desperate need for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian trauma. Washington should make an unequivocal commitment to a durable Middle East peace. Yes, I do realize that we have been saying that for several decades, so perhaps we should be a bit more determined this time.

When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, and the world needs to do about it, the United States should lead by example. For the most part, we have been doing much better than many others, but it is clear to all that the situation is certainly not improving.

President Biden has, so far, been very clear about what “type” of state it should be since that is the paradigm, he seemed to prefer. But a one-state solution cannot work unless Palestinians can live and be governed safely and fairly in the same state with Israelis, and that Israelis do not feel threatened by violent attacks by extremist Palestinians controlled and financed by parties who live neither in Israel nor Palestine.

The United States cannot afford to kick the political can down the road until there is a more opportune moment for peacemaking. Currently, Palestinians and Israelis seem to have reached a dead end, and the ground for both is very clearly unstable.

It is true that the new Israeli government of Netanyahu and the history of some of his cabinet members is far beyond adequate to send a chill to the bones of any, and all, who are familiar with this international nightmare. It is also beyond sad that Abbas is currently way too old and frail. Worse is that we have no idea who would replace him. My guess is that we still remember an international disaster by the name of Arafat.

Many of us will surely remember the term “Second Intifada” which means “second uprising” in Arabic in 2005. Despite many violent flare-ups since, both sides have avoided the type of fighting that reaches the scope and scale of the second intifada.

There is also a small-but-significant positive development because of the Abraham accord signed during former president Trump. Some claimed that the Abraham accord is the golden gate to everlasting peace in the Middle east. It is not a panacea, and I will only be brief for now. The Abraham accord cannot and will not prevent a violent turn.

Both Israelis and Palestinians need something far more serious. In addition, the very few countries that signed that accord got away with some very handsome and not so cheap prizes, and may not be dependable partners in the future.. However, one of the “recommendations” in that accord is profoundly significant and had not received adequate attention before. It called for an interfaith and and intercultural dialogue to advance a culture of peace among the three Abrahamic religions and all humanity.

Generally, however, the Abraham Accord’s recommendations are reasonably honorable aspirations, and may very easily identify with people revolting against an oppressor occupier. But the major hurdle and most immovable barrier is the fact that Israelis are not an old fashion occupier like the ones the world knew from centuries ago when that entire region was, literally, occupied by armies of foreign countries.

Neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis (irrespective of their faith or their degree of adherence to it) would welcome a third intifada. In fact, I sincerely doubt if any breathing human would welcome such senseless destruction. However, none of us can be lulled into thinking that there are no evil forces who continue, as we breath, to follow a misguided agenda ostensibly handed down to them by a God or a human who seduced with sacks of money and influence.

The dangerous developments on both the Israeli and the Palestinian sides are now converging, and the outlook for 2023 and beyond seems grim.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Mohey Mowafy is a retired Northern Michigan University professor and an occasional contributor to The Mining Journal Opinion pages who resides in the Marquette area.