In the wake of a complex property dispute between Jews and Arabs in East Jerusalem, waves of violence rocked Israel in May. The most acute threats came from the relentless Hamas rocket salvos. Israel's remarkable Iron Dome air-defense system neutralized most of the rockets. However, some snuck through, hitting civilian homes, with one projectile striking the strategic Ashkelon gas pipeline. Israel responded by striking key Hamas leaders as well as rocket production and storage facilities. Hamas has an estimated 30,000 rockets in its arsenal, enough to sustain a lengthy conflict. Israeli officials watched nervously as riots spread in towns and cities with large Arab communities.

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Eight months since the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain shocked the world by announcing formal relations with Israel, diplomatic ties are facing their most severe test after the eruption of war in Gaza. The Gulf states were relatively muted in their criticism of Israel. Some might see that as a step forward. But their refusal to condemn Hamas, not to mention the terrorist group's sponsors in Tehran, shows that more work is needed to strengthen this nascent alliance.

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The word Hamas means "zeal" in Arabic and "violence" in Hebrew. The group lived up to its name, zealously firing thousands of rockets into Israel over the course of the latest Gaza conflict. If it were not for the miraculous Iron Dome missile defense system deployed by the Israelis, the rockets could have killed hundreds or even thousands of innocents. Yet, somehow, the group has found a small but obstreperous gaggle of congressional apologists in Washington. The very existence of a "Hamas caucus" is beyond odd given how positively Americans typically view Israel and how much terrorism is reviled by both Democrats and Republicans alike.

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Israel's legal decision to evict Arab families from homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem was the spark that led to the latest eruption of hostilities. This is the narrative that has been regurgitated hundreds of times since the current conflict began.

There's one problem with that: It's wrong. But this is certainly not the first time that the "single point of failure" narrative has been wielded to explain a campaign of organized Palestinian or Arab-Israeli violence.

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With rockets flying and violence escalating in the Gaza Strip, the Biden administration announced Wednesday that it dispatched Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Hady Amr to the region, in an effort to broker calm between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas. The likelihood of a successful mission is low. But that's not Amr's fault; it's President Joe Biden's. His Middle East foreign policy is simply out of sync with this mission.

In past conflicts, senior American officials often found ways to steer both sides to a ceasefire, even when Israel wasn't quite satisfied with the results on the battlefield. But Jerusalem always acquiesced to Washington in the end, out of deference to the close ties between the two nations.

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