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Friday, September 27, 2024

Bibi, the Maps man: It is a new Middle East indeed

“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.

Bibi at the 78th session of the UNGA in 2023
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.

Nearly a year after his genocidal war, Netanyahu held two press conferences in early September, where he repeated false claims about smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza, once again angering Cairo.

He insisted on maintaining control of the Saladin corridor, also known as the Philadelphi Route, effectively violating the annexes of the Camp David Accords.

What's more concerning than his repeated falsehoods is the map he presented during these press conferences.

Once again, the West Bank is absent, though this time Gaza is included.

Lebanon is not named, with part of its south depicted as part of Israel.

A sliver of the Sinai Peninsula—some believe it may have been Taba—is shown as part of Israel, and Hala'ib and Shalateen are excluded from Egypt.

South Sudan is absent, and Tunisia is not mentioned.

The map also portrays the Western Desert as an independent state, separate from Morocco.

These are just some of the discrepancies that I, as well as others from Arab countries, noticed on his map—indicating it is no longer a coincidence.

Regarding Tunisia, I believe Netanyahu and his government are responding to Tunisian President Kais Saied, a populist strongman and conspiracy theorist, who has openly stated that he does not recognize Israel and considers it a fake entity.

This could explain why Tunisia does not participate in drafting pro-Gaza UN Security Resolutions as part of the Arab Group at the UN. Saied’s stance is, indeed, peculiar.

Then there’s the issue of Morocco and the Western Desert.

Morocco is the only Arab country that has official military agreements with Israel and has openly declared its deepening military relations with the country.

Morocco is set to manufacture Israeli military drones used to kill Palestinians in Gaza.

Pro-Israel supporters in Morocco claim they stand with Israel because it supports Morocco's stance on the Western Desert issue.

Yet Bibi appeared in front of the whole world saying that the Western Desert is not part of Morocco, and it is not the first time he did it.

Historically, relations between Morocco and Israel go back unofficially to when King Hassan II gave Mossad access to spy on Arab leaders during the 1965 Arab League Summit.

It's important to note that many Moroccans are using all available means to protest the war on Gaza and Morocco's relations with Israel. I also believe the Moroccan regime, namely the monarchy, will soon pay the price for this cooperation.

The regime seems to think they are distant from all the upheaval, but that might not be the case for long.


Then on Friday, Bibi went to the 79th session of UNGA just as he gave the orders to bomb Lebanon and open its front in a quest for any quick victory before the annual anniversary of 7th October.

Bibi and his maps of "Blessing countries" and "Cursed countries" 
at the 79th session of the UNGA 2024 in NY

Once again, Netanyahu brought up maps, including the one from last year’s UNGA and a new one. Speaking to a nearly empty room of UN representatives—many of whom, including the Arab delegations like Saudi Arabia’s, had left when he entered—Netanyahu presented to the world the so-called 'blessing countries' and 'cursed countries.'

The 'blessing countries' include Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and even India.

He added India to this list as part of his project with the UAE to create an alternative trade route to the Suez Canal, connecting Indian ports to the UAE, then by highways through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel’s ports to Europe.

The 'cursed countries,' according to him, are Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

He spoke of Arabs versus Jews, ignoring both the Palestinian identity and Arab Jews, whom his foreign ministry references only when convenient.

Netanyahu also mentioned peace with Saudi Arabia, though it’s technically not peace but rather official normalization—something the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, a member of the Royal Family, sent a clear message about by walking out of the UNGA.

Saudi Arabia delegation during Bibi's speech in 79th session of the UNGA 2024

Faisal Bin Farhan has made it clear that there will be no official normalization with Israel without a two-state solution, a solution Netanyahu rejects. Yet, Netanyahu still believes he will soon visit Riyadh with his wife, Sarah.

Immediately after his speech, Saudi FM Faisal Bin Farhan publicly rebuked him in a press conference, stating that without addressing the Palestinian issue, achieving true regional peace and stability will be impossible.

After his speech, in another dramatic move, the Israeli delegation abruptly left the UN building for the Loews Regency Hotel in New York, reportedly to give the order to unleash destruction on Beirut.

Netanyahu ordered the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of the group’s top leaders.

In doing so, he commanded the destruction of an entire block in Beirut’s southern suburbs, killing over 500 people, mostly civilians, including women and children, in what amounted to a complete massacre, cheered on by the West.

I will address Nasrallah in a separate post.

Interestingly, the operation involving Lebanon has been named 'New Order,' and it includes a ground attack—essentially, an invasion. Since 1969, Israel has launched around six major military operations involving Lebanon. 

We can now use the word 'invasion' because the Israeli public has been prepared for weeks by the media to accept an invasion of Lebanon, possibly to annex parts or even the entire country.

The Israeli Foreign Minister—whose name is unknown but who is notorious for sharing poorly made AI-generated images—claimed that Lebanon, along with Syria and Iraq, were not real sovereign states.

Israel's Minister of Dispora and Combating Antisemitism says that Lebanon is not a country and should be invaded.

 Meanwhile, Israeli settlement organizations are circulating maps showing future Israeli settlements in Syria and Lebanon.

This is like selling homes already.

 An op-ed in the Jerusalem Post even suggested that Lebanon is part of the Jewish people's promised land. 

JPost's Is Lebanon part of Israel's promised Land ? 

But it was removed yet it was archived and you can read its claims here.

It was the plan of Israel's alt religious right since November 2023.

On social media, an organized pro-Israel campaign is branding Lebanon as a country 'invaded' by Muslims who supposedly took it from its original Christian and Druze populations. Ironically, the Druze are an offshoot sect of Shia Twelvers, which was originally founded by a Shia Sheikh in Fatimid Egypt.

By the way, 82% of Israel-Lebanon attacks – 7,845 – were carried out by Israeli forces, which killed at least 646 people in Lebanon (Oct 23-Sep 24) while Hezbollah and other armed groups were responsible for 1,768 attacks that killed at least 32 Israelis.

We also have Trump stating that Israel is too small and should expand—an argument that defies logic and international law. Netanyahu's ambitions are not limited to invading southern Lebanon; he aims to invade the entire country. The real question is, how can he accomplish this when his army couldn’t even control Gaza till this day ?

If the West does not put a stop to Israel's radical alt-right expansionist ambitions, it loses any moral ground to criticize Russia for similar actions

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