On listening - Axios:
‘It became clear to Blinken and his team during their trip that Netanyahu's refusal to release the Palestinian tax revenues is hampering U.S. efforts to push for reforms in the Palestinian Authority, according to two sources familiar with the secretary of state's meetings.
• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Blinken in Ramallah he was ready to form a new government — at the administration's request — but stressed it wouldn't be able to function without money, and the tax revenues are a big part of the budget, the sources said.
What to watch: The Biden administration is trying to change Netanyahu's calculus by reviving efforts to reach a mega-deal with Saudi Arabia that would include a historic peace deal with Israel.
• Blinken told Netanyahu that Saudi Arabia still wants normalization after the war ends, but only if Israel commits to the principle of a two-state solution, U.S. and Israeli officials previously told Axios.
• While admitting it's "far-fetched" to think Netanyahu could agree to a deal that sets a path towards a Palestinian state, U.S. officials say they want to present an alternative vision to what many fear will be an endless war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is also thinking long term and keeping the channels open with other political players in Israel.
• During last week's visit, Blinken held a separate meeting with war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, who domestic polls show would likely handily win an Israeli election if it were held today.
• Blinken also met with opposition leader Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Netanyahu's key rival inside the prime minister's Likud party.
For now, Netanyahu appears "more willing to listen" to the ultranationalist ministers in his government — namely Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich — than to "what the president of the United States says," Sen. Van Hollen told Axios.’
Read the article here.
The dysfunctional Israeli government is only part of the problem. Even less dysfunctional governments before thought that the status quo was sustainable, and true enough, many started believing that.
The rift between Biden and Netanyahu might cause the US to look for more reliable strategic partners in the regio. Whether they can be found is is a different question.
And the story of MBS and Saudi-Arabi shows that what seems to be unforgivable in October is utterly forgivable in August. Morality depends on context as well.