JERUSALEM — The short ride that takes President Joe Biden from Jerusalem to Bethlehem passes an enormous mural of a smiling woman, wearing a flak jacket, yellow paint giving highlights to her chestnut hair.
The painting depicts the Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, shot to death in May, probably by Israeli forces. The Biden administration’s reaction — a muted condemnation, an inconclusive investigation — is the latest in a long list of grievances Palestinians have with the current U.S. government.
For decades, Middle East diplomacy has usually revolved around the Palestinian demand for statehood and how to obtain it.
