WASHINGTON –
Finally, President Joe Biden got his Rose Garden peace deal. It was not exactly the one he has been straining to land for most of the past year, but it was a breakthrough nonetheless — and, coming after a bitter election, a sweet moment of validation.
The question is whether the cease-fire in Lebanon that Biden announced Tuesday will be the coda to his diplomatic efforts in the Middle East or a steppingstone to agreements that could at last end the devastating war in the Gaza Strip and potentially even set the stage for a broader regional transformation.
If it holds, the Lebanon cease-fire by itself could make an important difference. It was designed to restore stability along the border between Israel and Lebanon, permitting hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians on both sides to return to their homes while providing a buffer zone to ensure Israeli security and offering an opportunity for Lebanon’s government to reassert control over its territory from a weakened Hezbollah.