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Israeli television channel Kanal 13 reported that Israel fears it could lose its strategic importance if left outside the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). The report said Turkey has been conducting diplomatic contacts with the United States to keep the route from passing through Israel, while Egypt is uneasy about potentially losing Suez Canal revenue and Syria wants the route directed to its own ports instead of Haifa.

Former Israeli National Security Council head Giora Eiland told Kanal 13 that a corridor bypassing Israel would strip the country of its logistics and strategic advantages in the Middle East. "The economic cost would be very heavy, the losses significant, and Israel's strategic position would begin to decline," he said, adding that a decades-long investment project cannot be repaired within a few years. Israel Ports Company board chairman Hezi Halavia warned that domestic bureaucracy is slowing the project while regional actors decide and act faster.

Former Israeli navy commander Eliezer Alfred Marom said Turkey's weight in regional diplomacy directly shapes the project, accusing Ankara of seeking hegemony across the Muslim world. Noa Shustherman Dvir of the MIND Israel think tank said Tel Aviv has been passive in advancing the process and that exclusion from IMEC would leave Israel a marginalized player in global trade. The corridor agreement was signed in September 2023 by India, the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, France, Germany, Italy and the EU.

Key Takeaways

• Israeli media report concerns that exclusion from IMEC would erode Israel's strategic and logistics position
• Experts cite Turkish diplomatic activity, Egyptian and Syrian interests, and Israeli bureaucracy as obstacles
• IMEC, agreed in September 2023, links India to Europe via the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel's Haifa port