US Vice President Joe Biden, on a tour the Middle East, said that the US is totally committed to Israel’s security in light of a potential Iranian nuclear weapon and said the resumption of talks between Israel and the Palestinians offered a “moment of real opportunity” for peace.

But not every commentator was as positive about Biden’s trip, or about the potential for real movement on peace in the Middle East.

In The Times, James Hider wrote: “Few in the Middle East expect a sudden breakthrough to emerge from Joe Biden’s efforts to restart negotiations that have languished in mutual distrust for more than a year.” He also noted that the news of new settlement construction, announced not long after Biden’s comment, “will certainly infuriate the Palestinians and make Mr Biden’s mission all the more difficult.”

Taking a more cautiously optimistic approach, The Washington Post wrote in an editorial today that “the Obama administration appears near to a diplomatic achievement it expected long ago.” However, the paper also noted that though “on the whole it is better to have Israelis and Palestinians talking than not,” the Americans “should avoid raising expectations.”

“There are limits to how far the United States can push Middle East diplomacy without genuine investment from the two sides,” the paper wrote. “There are also risks: A Palestinian nation-building project is making progress in the West Bank, and it could be endangered by another diplomatic failure.”

Al Jazeera opinion writer Steve Clemons questioned the point of Biden’s visit. Praising the vice president for exceeding expectations and performing “better than virtually any other member of [Obama’s] team in generating ideas and pushing the policy needle,” Clemons still asked whether this was simply a perfunctory visit.

“Is Biden just a big personality to ‘show face’ in the region and to try to assure regional leaders that the US still cares?” he asked, pointing out that the issue has not been a key White House focus, despite Obama’s infamous speech in Cairo last year.

“We hope that ‘Biden as fixer’ is the mission,” he wrote. “Hopefully, Biden can help create opportunities and momentum in a region that poses a defining challenge for the US - even though most of his Obama administration colleagues seem for all of their efforts to be out of ideas and out of steam.”

Roger Hardy at the BBC was less optimistic. “It is hard to find anyone who thinks success is very likely,” he wrote. “Israel believes it is strong enough to resist pressure to compromise – and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fears any major concession will undermine his already weak position.”

During the course of his five-day trip, the Vice President will travel around Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as meet with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, envoy of the Quartet on the Middle, before moving on to Jordan.

Jerusalem. Photo credit: Jennifer Lipman/Periscope Post