Netanyahu unveils security doctrine nine days before Israel’s election

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has unveiled an updated national security doctrine and displayed a map of rival regional alliances. The document was released nine days before Israel’s parliamentary election.

Prepared with assistance from Israel’s National Security Council, the doctrine calls for preventing perceived threats through military action, expanding buffer zones and seeking new regional partnerships rather than relying on containment.

Netanyahu said Israel should broaden its alliance network and develop capabilities that make it a valuable partner to other countries. He also warned that, in two years, a US president “extremely hostile to Israel” could take office.

The map’s regional blocs

The map shown at the briefing was originally published in May by the German Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung foundation. It depicts competing blocs of states, unrecognised entities and non-state actors across the Middle East and parts of Africa.

It labels an Israel-United Arab Emirates alignment the “Hexagon Alliance” and groups Egypt, Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia under the “Sunni Diamond Alliance”. Iran and its regional allies appear as a separate axis.

The map also marks Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces and Khalifa Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army as friendly or cooperative actors.

Opposition before the vote

Netanyahu’s political opponents rejected the document. Gadi Eisenkot called it “two hollow pages”, while former Prime Minister Yair Lapid described it as “superficial”.

Analyst Mohanad Hage Ali said the presentation encouraged fears of existential threats and helped Netanyahu portray himself as a familiar, decisive leader ahead of the October 27 election.

Hage Ali also warned that expanding military control could bring more conflict and ethnic cleansing under the banner of security buffers. He said the map could meanwhile strengthen propaganda by Hezbollah and other Iranian allies.