The world is changing rapidly. Rules-based systems are falling apart, anxiety is growing, and the great powers are once again competing directly with each other.
For the Arab world, this means facing difficult challenges to secure its future. The US, which once guaranteed security in the region, has retreated from its ostensibly global role. President Donald Trump’s “America-first” approach shows a setback from international commitment.
We’ve seen this in Ukraine. There, Washington negotiated with Russia without the full involvement of Kiev or European allies, sorting out their own security concerns.
This is not a one-off situation. It reflects a fundamental change in the way America sees its role in the world, and has a serious impact on the Middle East.
For decades, Arab countries have relied on American power to maintain their security. It has to end.
The Trump administration has shown that it will not only leave its European allies, but also require payment for the security support it provides. Ukraine acts as a warning. What does this mean for the Arab countries if Washington is willing to compromise Ukrainian sovereignty in a closed do-ya discussion with Russia?
It is not an exaggeration to say that the Middle East is at a historic crossroads. The region faces important decisions while the US is turning inward under Trump while Arab leaders gather in Cairo to discuss the Gaza Strip. “Great Israel” becomes a reality, creating security frameworks that can stand up to Israel’s continued expansion, and continuing to rebuild areas where the occupation regime has not been checked.
If Arab countries prioritize the interests of their population rather than simply serving as guardians of Israel’s security, they will see Zionism and its regime being far more threatened than Russia threaten Western Europe.
It has always been a dangerous mistake to assume that Israel would limit its ambitions for Palestine. We’ve seen Gaza’s genocide live streamed on social media. Continuous occupation and ethnic cleansing in the illegally occupied West Bank. Illegal annexation of Golan Heights; Israel moves to southern Lebanon and Syria.
Arab countries can no longer ignore Israel’s push for more territory.
From creation in 1948, Israel acted like an entity whose sense of security required the region’s total humiliating submission.
Israeli allies have given them even more power with their iron-like support. The Western countries condemned Russia’s illegal spread to Ukraine and sent billions of military aid to contain it, but they not only overlooked the illegal spread of Israel, but also protected it from accountability.
The very government, which increased military spending to counter Ukraine’s Russia, has at the same time helped Israel redraw its borders through war, annexation and forced evacuation, torn apart the international order based on rules. They do exactly what Moscow accused of doing.
For years, Arab countries have attempted diplomatic approaches, including the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, the peace agreement between Egypt and Jordan, the Abrahamian agreement, and the “normalization” of the occupation regime that began with the United Arab Emirates in 2020.
Hope and promise were that such perception would mitigate Israel’s attacks. Instead, establishing normal relationships has strengthened more illegal settlements, increased military attacks and Israel’s territorial grip.
The current political situation offers an opportunity to change this pattern. As Trump’s America reduces its global security commitment, Arab countries must accept that there is no longer an older system in which Washington guarantees stability.
The latest Arab League Summit provided an opportunity to rethink the broader challenges of Israel’s expansion. Was that discussed? That was certainly the case. Historically, however, the Arab response to Israeli territorial growth has been severed.
Caution, different priorities, and sometimes perfect accomplice followed Western patterns, allowing Israel to act with immunity. The belief that diplomatic engagement will ease Israel’s ambitions is not actually supported. Instead, normalization continues to protect Israel from meaningful consequences, take lands across the region and carry out military operations.
As rules-based systems collapse, anxiety grows, and the return to traditional zero-sum power struggles change, regional countries must face this challenge directly to survive in an increasingly unstable world. Trump, who refused to ensure Ukraine’s security without a “recovery transaction” for support already given, is not just a change in US foreign policy. Washington shows that it no longer sees its security commitment to Europe and the Middle East as a priority.
This forced European countries to rethink their defense strategies beyond their reliance on the US. Arab countries must do the same.
Security arrangements built around American military forces, unquestioned in Israel’s service, were always at elucidated. Arab countries need to recognize that Israel is not a partner of stability and goodness. It’s far from then. A positive presence creates instability and needs to be checked. An unfair regime that deals with international law and customs in light emptying responds to strength alone. Inclusion of Israeli ambitions requires the development of a new regional security environment in which Arab countries build collective power that can match and transcend Israel’s military and political influence.
The region needs to establish a framework that outweighs the interests of individual states, as Europe is doing in its position against Russian invasion. This means forming a defensive partnership that cooperates with military issues, shares intelligence and offers shared interests.
The Middle East cannot continue to allow Israel to force redraw its boundaries. To block the occupation regime from the pursuit of “Great Israel,” Arab countries must establish regional orders that can effectively counteract the territorial ambitions.
Rather than relying on American mediation that has repeatedly failed to bring peace (how can the US become an honest broker for peace when it supports one side so shamelessly?), Arab countries need to build strategic partnerships that truly strengthen their security needs. Emerging powers, including the economically powerful Persian Gulf Arab states and the militarily important Turkier, could help counter Israel’s expansion.
Arab countries need to be free from the influence of Washington, and develop relationships that truly strengthen the security of their communities and benefit their people.
Without acting together in the past, Israel was able to settle its occupation and expand its borders.
Israel’s security doctrine is fundamentally based on regional control, not on principles of coexistence. Until this structural reality is confronted, the broader Middle East will continue to suffer serious geopolitical and humanitarian consequences of the fanatic ideology that underpins apartheid Israel.
When Zionist regimes view the current global situation as a historic opportunity to strengthen control that is not hindered by US or international norms, Arab countries must challenge this view, advocate for independence and recognize their historical responsibility to defend their collective interests.
The future of the Middle East is not shaped in Washington. It is determined by whether local leaders truly understand today’s global global reality. They must take responsibility for their own security or take risks to stand helpless against Israeli territorial ambitions. The Arab world cannot stick to the false belief that stability comes from shallow Western promises or from meeting Israel’s infinite security requirements. True security comes only from ending the illegal occupation of Israel and providing the right rights and dignity worthy of the Palestinians.
Source: Middle East Monitor