The head of the parliamentary branch of Sovereignty Youth lays out the map of historical and current interests and struggles in the Middle East and the part that sovereignty plays in stabilizing Israel’s position.
Ahiya Amir, head of the parliamentary branch of Sovereignty Youth presented to the attendees of the Sovereignty Youth Hanuka Seminar the political changes in the Middle East in recent years, changes that are projected to continue along with changes in the future structure of the Middle East. He also related to the history of the long-standing power struggles in the Middle East, which have mainly been internal battles between the various denominations of Islam.
The basis for the internal battles, which began with the inception of Islam, extend even to our own times, as Khamenei’s rule by Ayatollahs is still striving to win the battle of Karbala, which occurred in 680 C.E. Iran does this by turning its terrorist arms against Israel and against Iran’s opponents in the Middle East.
Amir also explained Turkey’s motives and intentions to restore its power to that of the former Ottoman Empire and that it is doing this in many, various ways. Against these two powers, Turkey and Iran, Israel finds itself facing Iran as a descending power, although still strong, and Turkey as an ascending power.
In order to understand Israel’s regional political position, in his remarks, Amir also related to Israel’s neighbors, their history and their internal status. He gave special attention to the Jordanian Kingdom, which presents a significant target for the Iranians, who seek to take control of Israel’s eastern border through Jordan, which has the longest border of all with Israel. It is actually possible that Turkey has similar aspirations and this is why Israel must reach Jordan before Turkey or Iran, as Amir puts it.
Relating to Egypt, he presented the difficulties facing Egypt’s government, as a poor country whose habitable areas are extremely dense with a high birth rate of two million babies born per year. He also mentioned the concern that the Muslim Brotherhood might return to power in Egypt and its strengthening relationship with turkey, facts that Israel must take into account properly and carefully. “It will not be okay if we do not act so that it will be okay”, said Amir, relating to Egypt.
Saudi Arabia, a country that desires to become a significantly dominant power in the Middle East, understands that its oil reserves are not enough and it needs advanced technology and other means. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia faces a threat from Iran, along with the Houthi threat, who are now attacking Israel, but it presents a significant nuisance for the Saudis as well as world trade. “The State of Israel must understand that the Houthis threat is an existential threat to it, to the Saudis and to Egypt, most of whose income comes from the use of Suez Canal, and as long as the Houthis, the proteges of the Iranians, exist, countries of the area will go to Iran. If the Houthis exist, the Egyptians have no choice but to go to Iran. When the Houthis attack Saudi oil facilities, it has no choice but to become closer with Iran or Turkey”, according to Amir’s analysis.
From here, Amir moved to the political and economic potential of Israel, which is located in the center of the map and can choose the manner in which it can shape the Middle East, and by its conduct, be able to bring the minorities of the Middle East to support it or to keep its distance, “For Israel to become a regional power, it must eliminate the threats by the countries immediately surrounding it; to prevent the deployment of forces on the borders of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, we must situate our borders in the way that suits our needs. To apply sovereignty in Lebanon, southern Syria, Judea and Samaria and say that we are the regional power and we will build the Middle East in our image, and whoever wishes to be with us will prosper, and whoever does not wish to do so, will lose out”.
Against the backdrop of all this, Ahiya believes that Israel is now experiencing a historic opportunity to establish countries that will support it, to apply sovereignty and turn itself into a ruling regional power.