[News] The land and sea blockade against Israel is working as Israel takes a strategic hit

[Anti-Imperialist News]

mondoweiss.net
<https://mondoweiss.net/2024/05/the-land-and-sea-blockade-against-israel-is-working-as-israel-takes-a-strategic-hit/?ml_recipient=120499922320492131&ml_link=120499873663420033&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2024-05-05&utm_campaign=Daily+Headlines+RSS+Automation>
The land and sea blockade against Israel is working as Israel takes a
strategic hit By Ahmed Alqarout
<https://mondoweiss.net/author/ahmed-alqarout/> May 4, 2024
<https://mondoweiss.net/2024/05/the-land-and-sea-blockade-against-israel-is-working-as-israel-takes-a-strategic-hit/>
------------------------------

Israel’s aspirations to become the region’s transportation hub have taken a
hit. The maritime and land blockade against Israel to stop the genocide in
Gaza is working, as one of Israel’s main plans for a prospective “land
bridge
<https://mondoweiss.net/2024/02/israeli-lies-about-a-land-bridge-to-the-gulf-show-the-yemeni-blockade-is-working/>”
connecting the Gulf countries with Israel and Europe has suffered an
irrevocable setback.

The Israel-centered India Middle East Europe Economic Corridors project
(IMEC), which was first proposed by U.S. President Biden in September of
last year during the G20 meetings, is facing an existential threat. The
IMEC aims to connect Asia and Europe via a system of railways and ports
that pass through India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Greece.

The most recent blow to the IMEC project came last week when the UAE signed
a Memorandum of Understanding with Turkey, Iraq, and Qatar to fund the
IMEC’s rival, the Development Road Project
<https://www.trtworld.com/turkiye/turkiye-iraq-qatar-uae-sign-deal-to-advance-development-road-project-17876699>,
which offers alternative railway and highway routes for shipping between
Asia and Europe through Iraq to boost local, regional, and international
trade. This development signals waning international confidence in Israel’s
ability to secure IMEC’s future, especially in light of the genocide in
Gaza.

Moreover, the maritime blockades in the Red and Mediterranean Seas, along
with the land blockade in Jordan, have raised doubts about the viability of
Israel as an efficient and reliable transportation hub. The cost of the
genocide in Palestine on Israel is now having strategic ramifications that
undermine Israel’s future economic prospects.
*‘Development Road’ vs. IMEC*

In May 2023, Iraq launched the Development Road Project
<https://www.reuters.com/world/iraq-launches-17bn-road-rail-project-link-asia-europe-2023-05-27/>
to link the Grand Faw Port in Iraq’s oil-rich south to Turkey via railways
and roads, with the objective of transforming Iraq into a major
transportation hub in the region. The project aims to shorten the travel
time between Asia and Europe, positioning it as a rival to the Suez Canal.
The Iraqi government plans to use high-speed trains for the efficient
transport of goods and passengers to industrial hubs, while another part of
the project includes the construction of oil and gas pipelines.

The Grand Faw Port is currently halfway done, and the entire project is
expected to be completed within five years once the funding is secured.

Three months after the May 2023 announcement, Israel proposed the IMEC as a
rival to this project, envisioning it as a new regional transportation hub
in collaboration with its strategic Gulf partner as part of the Abraham
Accords — the UAE.

The project was presented as the cornerstone of a “New Middle East”
following the prospective normalization of relations between Israel and
several countries in the Arab Gulf, including Saudi Arabia.

A few months after Netanyahu flaunted the map of this “New Middle East,” in
which Palestine was effectively erased, October 7 and the Israeli genocide
that followed threw everything into disarray. Yemen’s Ansar Allah (commonly
known as “the Houthis”) imposed a maritime blockade on Israeli shipping in
the Red Sea in response to the Gaza genocide, while protests in Jordan
sought to block land transportation from the Gulf to Israel. The Iraqi
Islamic Resistance also initiated a limited blockade in the Mediterranean
Sea.

These blockades have cast doubts among international actors regarding the
future viability of the IMEC project, especially given the increasing
international perception of Israel as a rogue state — even as it continues
to receive American diplomatic, financial, and military backing. This lack
of confidence alone has prompted countries and investors to consider the
Development Road as an alternative to IMEC. If not representing a strategic
realignment, this new development is at the very least a form of hedging on
the part of various state actors.
‘*Abraham Accords 2.0′? *

Turkey and the UAE, both parties to the Abraham Accords, along with Iraq
and Qatar — who are not part of the Accords but maintain strategic ties
with the U.S. — are now all collaborating on the Development Road Project.
While it might appear that Israel’s exclusion from regional connectivity
plans undermines the U.S.-led Abraham Accords, this recent move does not
necessarily sound the Accords’ death knell. The adoption of the Development
Road could be seen as a hedging strategy by the U.S. and other countries
who are party to the Accords in anticipation of a scenario where Israel
becomes internationally isolated due to its continued genocide in
Palestine. Moreover, there is now an increasing likelihood that some
countries will impose economic sanctions on Israel. Only recently, Turkey
announced
<https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkey-says-israel-trade-halted-until-permanent-gaza-ceasefire-2024-05-03/#:~:text=ISTANBUL%2C%20May%203%20(Reuters),to%20take%20such%20a%20step.>
that it would halt trade with Israel until a Gaza ceasefire is reached, and
more sanctions are expected to be imposed if Israel continues down its
genocidal path.

At the same time, Turkey and the UAE
<https://nationalinterest.org/blog/lebanon-watch/turkey-uae-trade-agreement-win-abraham-accords-206318>
have been strengthening their relationships with one another under the
rubric of the Abraham Accords, which includes a strategic trade partnership
that both countries formed last year. Qatar and the UAE, after years of
diplomatic tensions, are also mending ties, and their cooperation on this
project could solidify their relationship under the U.S. security umbrella.
Iraq, unique among the Development Road countries for its direct attacks on
Israel, appears to be motivated by economic interests — namely, to
undermine IMEC and boost its own alternative project.

After two decades of conflict, Iraq is positioning itself as a strategic
U.S. ally, potentially linking itself indirectly to Israel through an
“Abraham Accords 2.0” framework while eschewing direct connections with the
country. Saudi Arabia has previously expressed interest in joining the
project, and its existing trade links with the UAE make it a tacit partner
by mere association.

Iran and Kuwait arise as the main opponents of this project, which
undermines their trade and excludes them. In an expression of opposition to
the project, Iran-backed militants have attacked the Khor Mor gas field
<https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iraqs-kurdish-authorities-working-resume-khor-mor-gas-supply-after-deadly-attack-2024-04-27/>
in Iraq’s Kurdistan region with a deadly drone attack. The attack
highlights the fragility of such a project for security risks and the need
to reach broader security arrangements for it to become possible.

While not participating in the Development Road, Lebanon is proposing that
Beirut Port become part of the IMEC due to Haifa Port’s unfeasibility as a
result of the continuing maritime blockade.

This development confirms that regional actors are preparing for a
post-Israel Middle East in which Israel is no longer a major player.
Consequently, an alternative to the Abraham Accords is being envisioned,
allowing the U.S. to construct a regional security and economic arrangement
without direct Israeli involvement. This regional pivot away from Israel
represents an undeniable strategic loss for the Jewish State.

While Israel continues its genocide in Palestine, it is incurring strategic
losses in exchange for tactical gains. Resistance efforts have
strategically distracted Israel, causing it to deviate from a path that
could have ensured a significant role in the region’s future. Now the Arab
countries party to the Abraham Accords are reorganizing economic alliances.
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