US post-war Gaza plans collide with President Biden's faltering campaign | MEE |

Biden administration needs buy-in from key Middle East partners to achieve policy goals, but some are already betting on a Trump presidency Arab Gulf states are hedging their bets on Donald Trump's return to the White House, telling the former president's surrogates they are waiting in the wings for his new administration, in an unexpected hitch to the Biden administration's Middle East diplomacy.

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The Biden administration is leaning on Gulf states to help provide security and reconstruction for the besieged Gaza Strip. Middle East Eye reported that Bahrain - a close ally of Saudi Arabia - has expressed a willingness to deploy peacekeepers to Gaza. Much of Bahrain's police force is staffed with Jordanians, some of whom are of Palestinian descent.

Although the Arab League endorsed sending an international force to Gaza under a UN mandate, any deployment to Gaza following Israel's devastating offensive will be extremely unpopular with Arab populations widely supportive of the Palestinian cause.

"The Biden administration is not going to be able to make progress on post-war Gaza planning in the next four months because if it looks like Trump's prospects of winning are increased, Israel's government will stall concessions and the Gulf states will hesitate," Gause said.

"Why do something for Biden if Trump is going to get elected?"