The New Sunni Alliance Challenging Israel's Status in the Middle East | Zalman Shoval

A tripartite defense agreement between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey, signed in Mecca, creates a new Middle Eastern reality and distances Israel from integration into the region. Turkey strengthens its regional position, Pakistan brings a nuclear umbrella, and Saudi Arabia explores alternatives to Washington. The agreement raises questions about the US role, NATO relations, and the absence of a defined common enemy.

A tripartite defense agreement between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey, signed in Mecca, creates a new Middle Eastern reality that distances Israel from integration into the region. Turkey strengthens its regional position, Pakistan brings a nuclear umbrella, and Saudi Arabia explores alternatives to Washington. The agreement raises questions about the US role, NATO relations, and the absence of a defined common enemy. The signing in Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, rather than Riyadh, reflects understandings among Sunni states against Shia Islam. Turkey, a NATO member, may find itself in a conflict of interest between its commitments. The agreement does not define a common enemy: Pakistan faces India, Turkey faces Greece, and Saudi Arabia faces the Houthis in Yemen. The UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain were not included in the agreement, and the UAE is building a defensive axis with Israel and India. The Trump administration focuses on free passage of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, and a plan to transfer fuel in cooperation with Israel via the Ashkelon-Eilat pipeline was previously blocked.