Ominous signs plague Biden's Middle East visit

ISRAEL: In the region where symbolism may matter most, the signs for U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit were inauspicious.

First Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak cancelled talks in Cairo and flew to hospital for gallbladder surgery. Then came an Israeli gift of broken glass and an eerie power outage in the "Hall of Remembrance".

By the time the lights flickered back on, Biden's Middle East fortunes were sealed with an Israeli announcement that it would build 1,600 new homes for Jewish settlers, ignoring U.S. and Palestinian objections.

It was an embarrassing setback that put a spotlight on the challenge the U.S. administration faces getting Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

Biden's visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank was a largely scripted affair a reflection of the sensitive issues involved as well as what many see as the Obama administration's fixation with staying on message.

Biden is famous for blunt talk and sometimes embarrassing gaffes, and his office appeared to take precautions by allowing no questions at his public press appearances. "He does have a history of mis-speaking," said Stephen Hess, an expert on presidency at the Brookings Institution. "He's aware of it, his people are aware of it. The president is aware of it. (And) given the sensitivities on this particular trip, it may be the better part of wisdom to keep quiet."

The first sign of trouble in Israel came when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented Biden with a glass-framed gift honouring his mother.

"I have one thing to offer you right now and it's broken glass," Netanyahu said at discovering the shards he was holding. Biden cautioned: "Don't cut yourself." The prime minister inadvertently shattered the glass when he put his elbows down on the podium, spokesman Mark Regev said.

In Judaism, broken glass is often thought to be a reminder of an imperfect world, and many say the Jewish wedding tradition of stomping on a glass is an expression of sadness at the destruction of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem.

At a later tour of Israel's Holocaust memorial museum, Yad Vashem, the lights in the "Hall of Remembrance" unexpectedly went out as a prayer for those killed was chanted, catching Biden's security detail by surprise.

One Biden aide described the moment as "off-putting" but others said it worked well given the mournful context. In the darkness, the only light in the cavernous room came eerily from the eternal flame reflecting off the ceiling.

"It's the Middle East," said an unfazed senior White House adviser, a veteran of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. "It could mean anything."

After underlining U.S. opposition to the latest settlement plan, Biden flew to Amman for more talks, and a trip to the famed ruins at Petra that is provided a forecast sandstorm does not prevent him reaching there. JERUSALEM, Friday, Reuters