This column was supposed to be about the momentum and promise of the US-brokered Saudi-Israel peace initiative, including how the kingdom went big by making Israeli-Palestinian peace part of the deal.
The consequences of an Israel-Saudi peace deal, led by the United States and providing new hope for a comatose Israeli-Palestinian peace process, were potentially game-changing for the region.
And that’s why Iran, it seems, looked to upend the process.
The attack from Hamas, a key partner in Iran’s "resistance axis" (which also includes Syria, Hezbollah and various Iraqi factions), was stunning in its execution. The operation from Gaza included not just 3,000 rockets, but an actual invasion into southern Israeli cities. An Israeli death toll of around 300 (as we went to press) and dozens of hostages are unprecedented.
