“I was working on this post before Israel launched Operation 'New Order,' which killed over 500 people in 48 hours, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. However, let’s say that this post serves as an important introduction to what is happening or will happen in the Middle East.”
A year ago, Benjamin Netanyahu stood at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) with a small map of the "New Middle East."
It was both an intriguing and alarming map, as it depicted no Palestinian state whatsoever.
The map clearly illustrated what he and his government had sought from day one: the annexation of Gaza and the West Bank, while maintaining relations with Arab countries—especially the recent signatories of the Abraham Accords (Sudan, UAE, and Bahrain)—and, most significantly, the holy grail for any Israeli government: Saudi Arabia.
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| Bibi at the 78th session of the UNGA in 2023 |
Ironically, Netanyahu's map of the "New Middle East" excluded Morocco, perhaps because he considered it too distant as a North African country.
At the time, Egypt and Jordan regularly issued statements in response to Israeli provocations in the West Bank, warning that they could lead to escalations.
Meanwhile, the U.S., or rather the Biden administration, seemed solely focused on racing against time to finalize a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal before Donald Trump could return and derail it.
Exactly one month later, everything changed, and it seems that everyone forgot about Netanyahu’s map—except Netanyahu and his government.
Since October 8, 2023, Netanyahu has shown little concern for rescuing Israeli hostages. Instead of focusing on their safety, he appears more concerned with saving himself and his government from accountability amid a political crisis, while pursuing his agenda of making that map a reality.
