Netanyahu map shows RSF 'friendly' to Israel and UAE, backing for separatist movements
Israeli leader broke the Middle East into competing
blocks in new security presentation showing Ethiopia and Greece as 'friendly'
states
Published date: 19 October 2026
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 emphasises 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.
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 recognise
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".
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