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Innovation Over Instability: How Israel Can Use Its Economy to Anchor a New Middle East
The lobby of Tel Aviv’s stock exchange. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
October 7, 2023, marked a turning point. Israel’s deterrence doctrine fractured in full view, exposing the limits of even the most advanced security systems. But within weeks, another reality emerged. The response was swift, coordinated, and tech-enabled. Intelligence, cyber capabilities, and precision operations operated in sync. The message was unmistakable: Israel’s innovation infrastructure works under pressure.
This credibility matters, not only for defense — but for diplomacy. In a region where conventional alliances are fragile and shared interests are often transactional, innovation has become a stable common ground. Countries across the Middle East are turning to technology to solve challenges that transcend borders, such as water scarcity, food security, energy efficiency, and health system resilience. Israel, despite geopolitical complexity, is positioned as a reliable source of operational solutions.
Across the region, Israeli technology is already embedded in transformation efforts. Fintech pilots in Bahrain, health tech systems in Morocco, and climate-tech deployments across the GCC countries are proving that technological collaboration can outpace political tension. These systems are already in production, shaped by practical needs and delivered by teams that know how to move quickly. Innovation diplomacy doesn’t rely on treaties; it relies on execution and offers regional players a tangible benefit from collaboration. This is what stability through technology can look like.
The global competition around AI has introduced a new kind of strategic map. Nations are no longer measured only by military assets or resource reserves, but by their ability to develop, deploy, and manage AI infrastructure. Compute power now determines who can build foundational models, launch autonomous systems, and influence the frameworks that govern global technology.
Israel has something few countries in the region can claim: the capacity to make meaningful contributions to this landscape. With over 7,000 active tech companies and more than 430 multinational R&D centers, Israel brings depth and maturity to emerging technology domains. Its startup engine operates on a global scale, supported by a talent base shaped by elite military units, top-tier academic institutions, and a proven track record of commercial execution.
While regional players are investing heavily to build capacity, Israel is already delivering. Although it may not house hyper-scale data centers, it generates the intellectual property, core algorithms, and system architectures that make those centers useful. This embedded value gives Israel strategic leverage in the AI economy without having to own the infrastructure outright.
GCC nations are rapidly transitioning from extraction-based economies toward digital infrastructure, including cloud computing, AI, and digital healthcare systems. This creates an opportunity for regional cooperation grounded in shared goals. Israel brings technical maturity and a track record of delivery, while Gulf states bring capital and scale. Together, they can co-develop platforms that support regional resilience, spanning public health, agriculture and energy. This is a future that is already unfolding. The Abraham Accords opened a channel for cooperation, and the demand for pragmatic, tech-first partnerships is accelerating it.
At Startup Nation Central, we connect global stakeholders to Israel’s innovation ecosystem. And we have seen the result of these efforts: trust builds when solutions are delivered consistently and visibly. This is a moment of strategic realignment across the region. Political dynamics are evolving, and economic priorities are shifting toward sustainability, productivity, and technological independence. Israel can be a central partner in this transition. But leadership will depend on investment, coordination, and focus.
The Middle East is being reshaped — and the region’s future will belong to those who build platforms, deploy solutions, and deliver value. Israel has the tools to help lead this transformation, and the region is ready. The moment is now.
Yariv Becher is the vice president of partnerships at Startup Nation Central and a former commercial attaché representing Israel’s Ministry of Economy, helping Israeli technology companies access foreign markets.
The post Innovation Over Instability: How Israel Can Use Its Economy to Anchor a New Middle East first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.