Israel's Strategic Crossroads

The Southeast Mediterranean is one of the most volatile regions on the planet. Currently, there are several hotspots in the Middle East and many unresolved conflicts waiting to erupt. This study, which compares the relations—and most importantly, the prospects of those relations—between Israel and Turkey, as well as between Israel and the Greece-Cyprus axis, is very ambitious. The complexity of the problems and the plethora of actors in that small region further impede the effort.Nevertheless, the main objective of this study is to understand which relationship is more valued by Israel and, consequently, which one will eventually be chosen. Furthermore, it seeks to determine the conditions upon which that decision depends. The secondary objective is to understand the nature of the Hellenic-Israeli alignment and to examine its solidity, consistency, and permanence. It should be noted that in this study, the term "e;Hellenic"e; refers to both Greece and Cyprus because of their common heritage.This study is divided into three parts, each examining different elements of the issue.In the first part, we examine Israel and its relations with its neighbors and the broader world. The objective of the first part is to establish Israel's strategic imperatives. To that end, we assess the threats presented by its neighbors and attempt to uncover the factors closely related to both the threats and the strategic imperatives.In the second part, we examine Turkey in relation to Israel. We review the history of their relationship and establish Turkey's foreign policy imperatives. Finally, we discuss the prospect of them renewing their partnership.In the third part, we examine Greece and Cyprus and their relationship with Israel. The pivot of Israel's foreign policy towards Greece and Cyprus has raised many questions, mostly due to the concurrent decline of the Turkish-Israeli relationship. The objective of our examination is to determine the prospects and the factors affecting that alignment.We analyze the findings of the three parts and present our thesis regarding the study's objectives in the Conclusions. To achieve this, we use the "e;Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats"e; (SWOT) methodology, applying it twice to Israel's case, each time considering a different alignment. We comment on the results and state our conclusions, as well as the factors upon which they depend.Thesis for the Centre d'Etudes Diplomatiques et Stratégiques master in 2013.