Benjamin Netanyahu needs to listen to his staunchest allies

Editorial: With his brief visit, Joe Biden exceeded expectations in demonstrating how committed his country remains to its closest friend in the Middle East. Israel’s prime minister should now heed his advice about the prosecution of war and the provision of aid

Israel’s prime minister is a veteran politician, and he and Joe Biden know each other well (Reuters)

Although a last-minute cancellation would have carried its own risks, it is difficult to see how US president Joe Biden’s visit to Jerusalem will bring a swift return to the uneasy peace that prevailed before the murders in the kibbutzim. That is not his fault.

The horrific explosion at a Gaza City hospital has completely overshadowed his bold attempt to avert catastrophe through personal initiative. The sheer scale and circumstances of the blast have appalled the world afresh, and rightly so. As Mr Biden settled in for a photo op with his Israeli counterpart, a solemn-faced Benjamin Netanyahu, emergency workers were still collecting body parts from the scene.

This was never going to be a propitious backdrop for shuttle diplomacy, and it is extremely unusual for any US president to go about such a mission without careful spadework and the expectation of success. It is still more unusual, indeed unique, for a president to visit a war zone.