Israel is in the midst of a tremendous defeat of the Iranian encirclement and attempt to strangle the State of Israel. Iran’s proxies to Israel’s southwest and north, Hamas and Hezbollah, have both been weakened significantly and do not pose an existential threat to Israel anymore. Syria has fallen into disarray, and Israel has control over the strategic mountains of the Hermon that allow it to cut off weapons being sent to rearm the Hezbollah. The Houthis in Yemen have still not been sufficiently weakened. But the head of the snake, Iran, is a weakened shell of its former self, that may very well fall to counterrevolutionaries as the Iranian economy continues to buckle under US pressure.
One would think that this would signify a safe future for Israel in the Middle East. But the enemies of the Jewish people in the Middle East are many. Turkey is stepping into the place of #1 leader that may threaten the Jewish State, and they have made strategic arrangements with Egypt and Pakistan. This does not pose an immediate threat, but it does signify some warning clouds in the coming years. Turkey is a member of NATO, ostensibly an ally of the United States, but it has a terrible track record vis-a-vis Israel and may very well turn into the next regional troublemaker.
This is a more challenging diplomatic situation for Israel to deal with. Turkey has historically always been located in a critical location in terms of trade routes and potential expansion of Chinese or American influence in the Middle East. Israel has to figure out a way to both combat Turkish expansionism and support of radical Muslim elements in the Middle East while working with the US and other NATO partners in Europe to curb Chinese influence in the Middle East and Europe.
This is a balancing act that is not simple at all. Ultimately, the success and thriving Israeli economy may very well serve as the lynchpin that will force more and more countries to cooperate and deal with Israel whether they support or do not support Israel. This has been the path that the Netanyahu-led government has taken in order to enhance Israel’s standing with its neighbors. Today, it is the UAE, Bahrain, Lebanon, and Jordan who have signed economic deals with Israel in order to cooperate and drive economic growth in their countries. Hopefully, more countries will follow suit, and the enemies of Israel will be more isolated, whether they are part of NATO or any other international organization.