The US vice president's visit to Israel has to a large degree clarified the Middle East imperatives of the Barack Obama administration in its second year.
Joe Biden's cornerstone speech at Tel Aviv University is a major downgrade and retreat from the bold commitments made by President Obama in Turkey and Egypt.
The two-part speech will no doubt be read selectively. Israeli leadership will underline the appeasement, commitment and support in the first two-thirds of the speech, whilst the Palestinian leadership will emphasise the overtures and support for independence made in the last third.
The first part underlines the Obama administration's and Biden's own adulation and commitment towards Israel. It checks all the boxes.
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