A year and a half after taking office, US President Biden recently embarked on his first trip to the Middle East during his term, visiting Israel, the Palestinian West Bank and Saudi Arabia. Some analysts pointed out that in the context of severe domestic problems such as inflati

A year and a half after taking office, US President Biden recently embarked on his first Middle East trip during his term of office, visiting Israel, the Palestinian West Bank and Saudi Arabia . According to senior U.S. officials at the briefing, key topics include reaffirming the United States' security commitment to Israel, emphasizing support for the "two-state solution" to the Palestinians, repairing relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia to ensure "energy security," and "The Threat of Iran " coordinates the positions of all parties.

Some analysts pointed out that against the background of serious domestic problems such as inflation in the United States and the great pressure of mid-term elections, this high-profile and high-profile visit by the United States will serve the needs of the United States, maintain American hegemony, and disturb the regional situation. "self-interest". Some US officials even said without hesitation that Biden's diplomatic goal of this trip is to show that the United States "returns to its leadership position" in the Middle East.

"Don't be too excited about Biden's visit"

In order to ensure the safety of Biden during his visit, Israel has deployed more than 16,000 people to be responsible for public security, maintaining public order and ensuring transportation. It can be said that it has mobilized a large number of troops. Many main roads, including the busiest Highway 1 in the area, were temporarily closed during Biden's visit. The already congested traffic worsened and people complained. On social media, many netizens ridiculed and criticized.

In sharp contrast to the grand pomp and the deliberate "show of affection" by the US, local public opinion generally has no expectations for the results of Biden's visit. Many people complained that Biden's visit did not bring anything to Israel except road closures. Netizen Eli Ouziel said bluntly: "Don't be too excited about Biden's visit. Americans are not interested in our affairs at all."

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During the visit, Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Lapid signed a joint statement, Reaffirming the “unbreakable bond between our two countries” and “the United States’ enduring commitment to Israel’s security.” One of the key points is that Iran will never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons , and the United States will use "all elements of national power" to ensure the above results.

However, some analysts pointed out that Israel did not "buy it". Israel has long regarded Iran as the biggest threat to the region and has taken a tougher stance on the Iranian nuclear issue. According to Israel's "Jerusalem Post" report, during the talks on the 14th, Lapid asked to set a deadline for Iran to return to negotiations on the Iranian nuclear agreement, but Biden refused.

On May 20, 2021, demonstrators fired slingshots at Israeli soldiers in the West Bank city Bethlehem . Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Louai Sababa)

From 30 minutes to 65 minutes

Biden visited the West Bank city of Bethlehem on the 15th and met with Palestinian President Abbas. The United States originally limited the meeting to a mere 30 minutes, but under pressure from Pakistan, the closed-door meeting was extended to 65 minutes. This has also aggravated the outside world's doubts about whether the Biden administration takes the Palestinian-Israeli issue seriously.

Israel's "Haaretz" quoted Palestinian officials as saying that the talks between Biden and Abbas will be limited to the economic level and will not involve political issues. Other analysts pointed out that Biden will not talk about any substantive content during the meeting and just wants to maintain the image of the United States in the Middle East. Several political factions in Palestine have spoken out before Biden's visit and will boycott Biden's visit to Palestine.

Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) spokesman Hazem Qasim issued a statement on the 12th, saying that Biden will promote relations between Israel and regional countries through this visit, which will be beneficial to the Palestinian cause and the entire The interests of regional countries pose "strategic dangers."

Palestinian political analyst Mustafa Ibrahim said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that Biden's visit is aimed at building momentum for the U.S. congressional midterm elections in November and will not propose any new ideas for solving the Palestinian-Israeli issue. .

PLO Executive Committee member Ramsey Rabah believes that whether it is US President Biden's first visit to the Middle East or the US's Middle East policy, the essence is to unite regional allies to fight Iran and serve US interests in the region.

Focused on "seeking oil" to relieve pressure

According to the schedule, after concluding his visit to Israel and Palestine, Biden will fly directly to the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah to attend the Gulf Cooperation Council leaders' meeting. It is generally believed that Biden's primary purpose of visiting Saudi Arabia is to repair relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia in order to "seek oil." That is, he hopes that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil-producing countries will increase production to lower international oil prices, ease domestic inflationary pressure in the United States, and help support the mid-term elections. In addition, Biden's intention to create a "Middle East version of and NATO " and contain countries such as Iran and Russia is also quite obvious.

On September 22, 2019, residents were relaxing in the ancient city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Tu Yifan

However, whether he is "seeking fuel" or "building gangs", Biden's midsummer trip may be thrown cold water on him.

Analysts pointed out that Saudi Arabia has always been cautious about increasing oil production. Orderly regulation of oil production quotas within the OPEC+ framework is in the best interest of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia will not easily increase oil production quickly. At the same time, regarding the U.S. attempt to win over Saudi Arabia against Iran, Russia and other countries, there is no sign that Saudi Arabia will sacrifice its long-term relations with Russia and other countries in exchange for some short-term diplomatic or defense gains from the United States. Considering the changes that the U.S. midterm elections may have on U.S. domestic affairs, Saudi Arabia currently adopts a more wait-and-see attitude toward U.S. policy.

(Original title: Global Connection | Biden’s first visit to the Middle East since taking office, what “self-interests” are hidden?)

Source: Xinhua International Headlines

Process Editor: TF063