Bracing

Actually, there’s something that makes me a lot more nervous than watching the stock market. Watching the Middle East. “Joe Biden will convene his national security team Monday to discuss developments in the Middle East as the region braces for an Iranian retaliation to a series of assassinations blamed on Israel 10 months into the war in the Gaza Strip.” Biden’s ceasefire efforts have been repeatedly thrown under the bus by Netanyahu. In that sense, Biden has a lot in common with Israeli security officials. NYT: “A quarrel between President Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s approach to cease-fire talks mirrors growing domestic tensions between Mr. Netanyahu and senior Israeli security officials over his perceived resistance to a swift deal with Hamas.”

+ Negotiators are still working on a ceasefire deal. But for the moment, everyone in the Middle East is bracing for week that could determine the course of the Gaza war (and hoping that course doesn’t spill out across the entire region.)