US has weighed a new envoy role for Middle East crisis

The Biden administration has weighed a proposal to name a new top diplomat to focus on long-term Israeli-Palestinian relations, though for the moment it is sticking with a post focused on the immediate humanitarian crisis of the Israel-Hamas war, a U.S. official told POLITICO.

If the conditions on the ground change and the current post is vacated, the administration may create a position with the broader mandate, the official said. Doing so soon could ease some of the day-to-day pressure off of President Joe Biden and his top aides during a presidential election year.

The Biden administration has faced criticism for doing little to curtail Israel’s military operations, even though it speaks often about ending civilian harm, and ignoring the Israeli-Palestinian crisis for the majority of Biden’s time in office.

Two other current U.S. officials and two former U.S. officials confirmed that discussions about an expanded envoy role have taken place within the administration, though each person offered different predictions for what a future such role could entail. All were granted anonymity to describe sensitive deliberations.

“They should do it if only because they can get this off of Biden's plate,” one of the former officials said of creating a newer, more powerful post, noting how the president and his top aides have been very hands-on in dealing with the conflict amid growing Democratic criticism of Israeli actions. “This is not a particularly big political winner for Joe Biden.”

The considerations come as Israel is shifting to a less-intense phase of its war, albeit more slowly than the U.S. would like to see. Israel’s bombing campaign and ground operations have led to immense suffering for Gaza’s 2.3 million