Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described a vision of a strategic alliance encompassing India, Arab countries, African countries, Greece, Cyprus, and other Asian nations around the Mediterranean and Middle East to counter radical Shiite and Sunni axes, as quoted in an X post shared during the reporting window from 12:46:24 AM to 2:16:04 AM UTC on February 23, 2026. Netanyahu stated, "In the vision that I see before my eyes, we are creating an entire system — essentially a kind of alliance — around and within the Mediterranean, within the Middle East. This includes India, Arab countries, African countries, and Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Cyprus, and also countries in Asia that I will not detail at the moment. The intention is to create an axis of countries that see reality, the challenges, and the goals through one lens — opposite the radical axes, both the radical Shiite axis that we fight and have fought strongly against, and also the radical Sunni axis," according to the X post by @hahussain. The remarks build on Netanyahu's earlier announcement on February 23 during the Cabinet meeting that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Israel on Wednesday, describing the Israel-India bond as a powerful alliance in innovation, security, and strategic vision, as quoted in his X post and confirmed by Modi. An accompanying X thread summarized geopolitical shifts, noting the diminished importance of land and population amid an AI race, the emergence of middle powers including Israel with UAE and Morocco against Islamist axes led by Iran and Turkey-Qatar, and alignments by peripheral nations like India with Israel-UAE, as posted during the one-hour 29-minute window.
