'Among the mistakes the Biden administration has made with regard to this conflict, if anything they have been too supportive of the Netanyahu administration...' David Rothkopf latest worth a read.

Another dismal end of the week in the ME despite recent hope of deal:
—no ceasefire
—no hostages released
—decreased aid (already way too little)
—Rafah
Let’s hope leaders have a plan to turn this around. Enough.

Important piece from ⁦Shira Efron⁩ nytimes.com/2024/05/08/opi…

Relations with Saudi Arabia does not appear to be this Israeli government's current priority.

What agonizing uncertainty for the people of Gaza and the families of Israeli hostages. Hoping a breakthrough is still possible.

“It is well past time for the Middle East to have a standing forum for regional security that establishes a permanent venue for dialogue among its own powers,” argue Dalia Dassa Kaye and Sanam Vakil صنم وكىل.
trib.al/EaRjQpn

I’m at the point where I see ‘there’s no military solution’ and I’m not sure if folks are talking about Gaza or US college campuses.

Bad news just as momentum for a hostage/ceasefire deal seemed to be increasing.

Saudis reiterating Arab peace initiative principles here--clear path to Palestinian state for normalization with Israel.

Suggestions of an anti-Iran alliance emerging in the Middle East are overenthusiastic and fail to grasp the complexity of the region’s challenges, write Dalia Dassa Kaye and Sanam Vakil صنم وكىل via Foreign Affairs.

foreignaffairs.com/middle-east/an…

'But what exactly is the red line? Is it only high ranking people? Is it only embassies? Or is it every Iranian target in Syria?” Very good questions likely to be tested in weeks ahead.
nytimes.com/2024/04/19/wor…

'If one missile lands in the wrong spot, we’re in a different ballgame'

Dalia Dassa Kaye on the dynamics of escalation between Iran and Israel

globaldispatches.org/p/iran-israel-…

Hamas clearly trying to keep Iran in the fight but thankfully Iran seems to be playing Israel's limited response down (so far at least).

👇key point. this strike is not unprecedented. Israel clearly trying to return to shadow war dynamic which is still dangerous but better than direct Israel-Iran war.

Best case scenario: Israel choosing low end/limited response to Iran's high end attack last weekend + Iran playing it down = offramp from this dangerous round.

But did Iran 'change the equation' to deter Israeli strikes on IRGC? On Hezbollah? Unlikely.

So Israel does not seem to shifting course and officially accepting responsibility for attack. This would follow previous precedent. If Iran plays it down this might be the end of this tit-for-tat escalation which is good news.