Controversial Map In Netanyahu Briefing Triggers Wave Of Speculation

Via Middle East Eye

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a map of the wider Middle East showing his country and the UAE aligned with a paramilitary in Sudan accused of committing genocide, and separatists in Libya, Yemen and Somaliland.

The map, which carried the logo of Germany’s Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Institute, will not surprise regional watchers, but it could prove awkward for some of Israel’s regional partners and cement suspicions among Arab states.

Israel and the UAE were shown as part of a “Hexagon Alliance”. The map showed Greece, Ethiopia and parts of India aligned with them. But it also showed a swath of southwestern Sudan as friendly to the UAE and Israel.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) control southwestern Sudan. United Nations experts and dozens of media reports, including from Middle East Eye, have revealed extensive Emirati support for the Sudanese paramilitary, which is led by former Janjaweed leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and has been widely accused of committing genocide in Darfur. The UAE has officially denied backing the RSF.

The map was part of Netanyahu’s unveiling on Sunday of a new security doctrine that emphasizes preemptive strikes and the establishment of “buffer zones” on Israel’s borders.

“The War of Redemption necessitated an upgrade of fundamental principles within the traditional national security doctrine, among them: giving priority to prevention and offense over containment and defense, including launching preemptive strikes to thwart evolving threats; strengthening home front defense against new threats; cementing Israel’s status as a regional power,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Sunday.

“Opportunities have been created for forging new alliances in our region and beyond,” the statement added.

‘Sunni Diamond Alliance’

The map Netanyahu shared shows Israel aligned with secessionist groups while framing its oldest Arab treaty partners as countries not considered friendly to Israel. The map did not show Egypt and Jordan as aligned with Israel.

Instead, it marked Egypt as part of a “Sunni diamond alliance” with Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia; it showed Jordan, whose peace treaty with Israel dates back to 1994, as “friendly” to the alliance.

Netanyahu’s public presentation is likely to raise concerns among critics about Israel’s support for secessionist groups and the partition of fragile states. He showed a government in eastern Libya controlled by Khalifa Haftar to be aligned with Israel. 

Netanyahu: I established the ground barrier between Israel and Africa along the Egyptian border. It was primarily a barrier against infiltration. Otherwise, there would already be another million Muslims here, and we would have been flooded like Europe. https://t.co/kpNrkiYjjG

— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 18, 2026

Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council, a UAE-backed separatist movement that dissolved in January 2026 and re-emerged as the Transitional Council of South Arabia, was also shown on the map as being friendly towards Israel and the UAE

Israel became the first country to recognize Somaliland earlier this year. Somaliland is a breakaway republic of Somalia where Israel and the UAE have been expanding their military presence, according to multiple media reports.

Netanyahu’s map showed how Israel sees its security as part of a broader region extending well beyond the Arab world.

He showed Greece and Ethiopia as “friendly” states. The latter is on the verge of a full-scale war with Eritrea, where Israel has long coveted a Red Sea military base, MEE has reported.

Netanyahu’s map also reaffirmed the longstanding ties between Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran as part of an “Axis of Resistance”.