Israel weighs Saudi-Turkiye-Pakistan defence pact
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defence Pact on Friday, stipulating that "any armed attack against any one of the three States shall be regarded as an attack against them all".
- Israel had yet to officially respond as of Saturday, with analysts suggesting leadership was using the Jewish Sabbath to consider the pact's full implications.
- Turkiye has emerged as Israel's primary regional antagonist, with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan last month calling Israel "a burden that humanity can no longer bear" — prompting Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to label it "textbook incitement to genocide".
- Pakistan, which does not recognize Israel, drew Israeli anger when Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif described Israel as "evil" and "a curse for humanity" in April.
- Saudi Arabia has distanced itself from Abraham Accords normalization since Israel's Gaza war began in October 2023, despite both Netanyahu and Trump pushing for its inclusion.
- Analysts told Al Jazeera the pact reflects "a lack of trust in the US and its ability or willingness to protect its Middle Eastern allies," though some argued it is more about confronting Iran than Israel.
- The pact is likely to feature in Israel's October elections, where Netanyahu is polling neck-and-neck with Gadi Eizenkot and has been blocking F-35 sales to Turkiye while rival Naftali Bennett has warned of "a hostile Sunni axis with nuclear Pakistan".
Why it matters: The pact directly undermines the Abraham Accords expansion Netanyahu and Trump have championed, while validating rival Naftali Bennett's earlier warnings about a Sunni-Turkiye alignment. With Israeli elections in October and Netanyahu tied with Gadi Eizenkot, the pact becomes live campaign material on security credentials.
Ask SkimNews
