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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

The danger of leaving things be: how the world ‘failed miserably’ in the Middle East

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu (left), with his US counterpart, Joe Biden, with flags in the background on the sidelines of a UN general assembly meeting on 20 September in New York.
Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu (left), with Joe Biden on the sidelines of a UN general assembly meeting in New York in September. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Joe Biden’s high-stakes visit to the Middle East to avert an all-out war raises serious questions about the level and nature of the president’s previous engagement in the region.

Just as Israel suffered a total intelligence breakdown over the horrific Hamas attacks, diplomats stand charged with their own collective system failure, at the heart of which was treating the Palestinian issue as best managed, not solved.

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