The Biden administration’s reported efforts to broker a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel are cause for genuine alarm and could make the already horrifying situation for Palestinians much worse.

Morocco canceled a key normalization gathering following an Israeli announcement to expand settlements. It was the latest setback for the Abraham Accords despite U.S. efforts.

In a 413-13 vote, the House of Representatives passed legislation to expand the Abraham Accords with a goal of normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi normalization with Israel could be used to press for Palestinian rights, but the Biden Administration will likely squander it for short-term political gain that further entrenches Israeli apartheid and endangers the region.

Israel is attempting to exploit the conflict in Sudan to push through Sudan-Israel normalization, a symbolic milestone for Israel. It is also against the will of the people of Sudan.

The Chinese-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore relations has the potential to shake up regional and global politics for the Palestinians’ benefit.

The United States bears a responsibility to rein in Israeli violence against Palestinians. The only real question is whether the Biden administration will use the leverage it has.

The Biden administration is concerned about Israel’s far-right government only as much as it impedes U.S. foreign policy. When it comes to the Palestinians, the U.S. simply doesn’t care.

Speaking from Jerusalem following a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reiterated calls for a two-state solution and promoting the normalization of relations with Israel across the Middle East. Palestinians say the visit shows the United States remains biased towards Israel.

“When the U.S. draws an equivalence between the butcher and the butchered, then it is necessarily on the side of the butcher,” Ubai Aboudi, Executive Director at Bisan Center for Research and Development, tells Mondoweiss.

The Biden administration has pressed forward with the military aspects of the Abraham Accords’ vision, letting it be known at the end of 2022 that Israel, as part of its new position in CENTCOM, had been elevated to “full military partner” in terms of strategizing and planning with the United States.

The move sets a dangerous precedent, which if it results in an official alliance, runs the risk of an American commitment to Israel’s defense that could easily drag the U.S. into more fighting in the Middle East, even if that’s not Washington’s intention. And it would mean that commitment happens without any kind of public debate.