Strategic Assessment
One of Israel’s most notable political moves of recent years has been its reaching out to states on the Middle Eastern periphery in order to strengthen ties with them. This essay surveys the political constellation that seems to be forming, and focuses on israel’s relations with Greece, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, and South Sudan. It considers the contribution of this alignment at the security-intelligence level, as well as at the political and economic levels. Although the importance of the current alignment is limited both because of these states’ security, economic, and political circumstances and their relatively low international status, it seems that Israel attributes much significance to these relations in light of the possible ramifications of changes occurring in the region, the chronic instability marking the Arab sphere, and the growing strength of the radical Islamic elements.