The Middle East is a geographical region situated at the crossroads of three continents—Asia, Africa, and Europe. It is home to a quarter of the world’s population and is marked by competing political, economic, and social interests of the world’s major powers. In addition, the Middle East is rich in natural resources, most notably its vast reserves of oil and gas, as well as abundant human capital. For this reason, the West planted Israel as a functional state in the region, with its primary mission being to sabotage any Islamic revivalist project. Western interests aligned with the Israeli project, leading to the establishment of the State of Israel on Palestinian land. Israel then began expanding, eventually occupying all of Palestine, in addition to the Syrian Golan Heights and Lebanon’s Shebaa Farms.

However, the Israeli project, which draws its vision and ideology from deeply rooted ideological foundations, did not stop there. Israel developed long-term strategies and has been implementing them gradually and deliberately to gain control over political and economic decision-making in the region. Its ultimate goal is to be accepted as a major regional actor in what Shimon Peres once called the "New Middle East," and what the United States later termed the "Greater Middle East." Both visions aim to integrate Israel into the Arab and Islamic region under what is now known as the Abraham Accords and normalization.

This leads us to ask: What does Israel want from the Middle East?
There is broad consensus that what Israel seeks is further fragmentation, division, weakness, and deterioration of the region—an agenda that has become evident in the stance of the Arab and Islamic regional systems regarding the genocide in Gaza. Israel appears to have succeeded in dismantling the concepts of Arab and Islamic solidarity, eroding these as sources of strength in facing external challenges.

On June 2, 1982, Haaretz military correspondent Ze’ev Schiff wrote that the best way to serve Israel’s interests in Iraq was to divide the country into a Shiite state, a Sunni state, and a separate Kurdish region. This reflects the essence of Israeli strategic thinking, which distinguishes itself from its Arab counterparts by moving swiftly from theory to practice—capable of transforming threats into opportunities and defeats into victories. Indeed, today Iraq teeters on the brink of fragmentation, Sudan has already split into two unstable states, and Syria faces an uncertain future as foreign powers—including Israel—carve out zones of influence. Other Arab and Islamic nations may face similar fates.

But what is the secret behind the success of Israeli strategic thinking? What is it based on, and what are its tools?

I believe its success can be attributed to:

1. The Israeli project has built a reverse dynamic: Jewish communities around the world are tasked with supporting and defending Israel (the so-called Promised Land). These communities form influential lobbies that utilize interests, religion, and media to advance expansionist goals at the expense of the Arab and Islamic worlds.
2. The absence of any meaningful Arab strategic projects to counter these threats.
3. Israel's focus on industrial development, technological advancement, telecommunications, innovation, and education—key indicators of strategic success.
4. The West’s view of Israel as a nation that serves its interests in the region. This perspective is a direct reason for the unlimited support Israel receives across all fields. In fact, access to the White House is now seen as passing through Tel Aviv and normalization with Israel.

As for what the Israeli strategic vision in the Middle East is based on, I believe its core lies in dominating the region’s resources and manipulating Arab political decisions to serve Israeli interests. This includes securing recognition of Israel as a central power in the Middle East.

To achieve this, Israel leverages all its sources of strength—whether in Africa, Asia, or Europe. Finally, the genocide in Gaza, aimed at depopulating the territory by destroying every aspect of life there, fits squarely within this strategic plan—removing any obstacle standing in the way of Israel’s ultimate goal: regional hegemony.