{"id":123079,"date":"2026-05-20T13:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T13:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/123079\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T13:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T13:14:09","slug":"israels-ben-gurion-canal-could-challenge-the-suez-canal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/123079\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s Ben-Gurion Canal could challenge the Suez Canal"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a world searching for stability, it is dangerous to leave one of the world\u2019s most critical trade routes in the hands of Egypt. The geopolitical reality of the Middle East<\/a> is unstable, and Egypt is part of the problem.<\/p>\n

It is time to bring back the \u201cBen-Gurion<\/a> Canal\u201d project: a strategic shipping corridor connecting Eilat to the Mediterranean Sea near Ashkelon or Ashdod, creating a viable alternative to the Suez Canal.<\/p>\n

This is no longer merely an engineering idea. It is a geopolitical doctrine.<\/p>\n

Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace agreement with Israel<\/a>, yet over the years, it has also become the spearhead against any warming of relations between Israel and the Arab and Muslim worlds.<\/p>\n

I witnessed this firsthand while serving as head of Israel\u2019s mission in Doha between 1999 and 2001. Even then, Egypt worked behind the scenes to block closer ties between Israel and the Arab states. This is not a temporary policy. It is a deeply rooted strategic mindset.<\/p>\n

\"ShipsShips are seen at the entrance of the Suez Canal, Egypt March 26, 2021. (credit: MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY\/REUTERS)<\/p>\n

Additionally, for many years, Egypt has had a long-standing willingness to turn a blind eye to weapons smuggling into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n

During the recent confrontation with Iran, Egypt chose to position itself politically against the American, Israeli, and Gulf-led alignment, despite the severe economic and regional consequences such a position could have created for Cairo itself.<\/p>\n

The reason is simple: Egypt fears Israel\u2019s growing regional strength more than it fears Iran. From Cairo\u2019s perspective, any shift in the regional balance of power in Israel\u2019s favor is viewed as a strategic threat.<\/p>\n

A country driven by regional ego and balance-of-power calculations cannot remain the sole guardian of a global trade artery. That is precisely why Israel must think differently.<\/p>\n

Ben-Gurion Canal is a major economic opportunity<\/p>\n

The \u201cBen-Gurion Canal\u201d could transform Israel from a regional transit state into an international infrastructure powerhouse. Not merely a canal, but an entire economic corridor: new ports, logistics hubs, industrial zones, jobs, dramatic development of the Negev, and energy production along the route.<\/p>\n

Even if Egypt<\/a> attempts to slash transit prices through the Suez Canal, that will not be the central issue. The true value of this project lies not only in shipping tolls but in creating a new strategic engine of growth for Israel and for the global economy.<\/p>\n

Today, the world is searching for stability: energy stability, security stability, and supply-chain stability. In this reality, the question is no longer whether the world needs an alternative to the Suez Canal.<\/p>\n

The real question is whether Israel has leaders bold enough to withstand Egyptian pressure and do what is right for Israel and for the international economy.<\/p>\n

The writer is a former strategic planning minister in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a world searching for stability, it is dangerous to leave one of the world\u2019s most critical trade…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":123080,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[5255,1170,655,9700,37,8330,49,1720],"class_list":["post-123079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-arab-states","tag-economics","tag-egypt","tag-eilat","tag-israel","tag-mediterranean-sea","tag-middle-east","tag-suez-canal"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116607088339577721","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123079\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}