Miri Regev Warns Netanyahu That Regional Trade Deals Could Sideline Israel

Transportation Minister Miri Regev sent an unusual warning letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, saying Israel faces a “real strategic threat” and a serious geopolitical disadvantage. In the letter, later obtained by N12 and first reported by The Marker, she argued that Israel’s “hands are tied” following the recent agreement with Iran, while regional states are moving ahead with trade and energy corridors that deliberately bypass Israel.

Regev wrote that the danger is already materializing in projects such as a logistics agreement between Saudi Arabia and Turkey for a rail link through Jordan and Syria, expected to be completed in three to four years. She also pointed to the “Gasher Moshe” route linking Saudi Arabia directly with Egypt, giving access to Europe through Egyptian ports, and to the “Development Road” of land routes connecting Iraq, Syria and Turkey. She said U.S.-backed infrastructure development in Syria, including large Emirati investment of nearly $1 billion in a Syrian port, is deepening the trend.

In direct criticism of Netanyahu’s office, Regev wrote that long-term trade strategy can decide outcomes “without weapons” and warned that these bypass routes could damage Israel’s geopolitical and economic standing and leave it “outside the global trade map.” She urged the prime minister to lead a counter-campaign and raise trade to the highest diplomatic level.

Regev asked Netanyahu to intervene personally and urgently with the U.S. administration and with India, saying India has decisive influence over the countries involved in the initiative. The letter comes as the idea of connecting Israel to regional trade corridors has been discussed for more than 20 years, under names including “Gate to the East,” “Rails for Regional Peace,” and “From Gulf to Gulf,” and is now tied to the IMEC project. The article says past governments have done little to advance it, and even failed to budget rail links to border crossings such as the one near Beit She’an.