From Gaza to Lebanon, Netanyahu — not Biden — is setting the agenda in the Middle East

The U.S. and Israel look increasingly at odds, with Washington worried about the dangers of a wider conflagration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu determined to hit hard at Iran and its proxies.

Israel’s killing of Hezbollah’s longtime leader has driven home how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set the agenda in the Middle East in recent months, with a frustrated Biden White House unable to shape events or defuse a spreading conflict in the region.

Officials in the Biden administration felt blindsided by Friday’s Israeli airstrikes in southern Beirut that killed Hassan Nasrallah, and other senior Hezbollah figures, current and former officials say. 

In the days before the Israeli attack, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had intensively shuttled between delegations in New York during the United Nations General Assembly session, trying to forge a 21-day cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Follow live updates here.

The Biden administration was so confident in the proposal’s success that a senior administration official briefing reporters after its public debut suggested both parties’ agreement was a foregone conclusion.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/netanyahu-not-biden-setting-agenda-middle-east-rcna173149

---