# Alliance of the periphery

The alliance of the periphery refers to a foreign-policy strategy developed by Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion. In 1999, Meir Amit, the head of Mossad, described it as an "alliance with all the actors in the Middle East who are not Muslim Arabs".

## History

The term "periphery" was used due to the fact that non-Arabs and non-Muslims largely geographically encircled the Arab Muslim population in the Middle East. The alliance originally included Israel, Turkey, the Imperial State of Iran, and the Ethiopian Empire. It was also applied regarding the Druze, Copts, Kurds, Berbers, Middle Eastern Christians, and the South Sudanese. According to Baruch Uziel, the alliance would overwhelm the Arabs and end their imperialism, bringing peace to non-Arab and non-Muslim communities, and ultimately to the whole region. Uziel acknowledged the challenges to such an alliance, such as Islamism and the conflict between Kurds and Turks, and claimed that "no new and bold idea has ever forged its way in a direct line and without curves."
While Israeli foreign policy generally pursued Israeli interests, "the sole exceptions were some of the links with minorities, where Israel's support reflected a genuine degree of both sympathy for and empathy with those suffering at Arab hands." Israel pursued the alliance even after its military victories over the neighboring Arab nations.
In 1958, Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion and Turkish prime minister Adnan Menderes held a secret meeting, in which they discussed the alliance, and exchanged intelligence and military support. Iran was also involved, but at a lesser extent. Iran, Turkey, and Israel established a pact known as "the Trident" in 1958. In 1967, Turkey called for Israel's withdrawal from the occupied territories but refused to join the Arabs in condemning Israel as an "aggressor state." At a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Rabat, Turkey opposed a resolution calling for Muslim states to sever diplomatic relations with Israel.
The 1979 Iranian revolution was a major setback for the policy. The new government of Iran severed relations with Israel and withdrew recognition. Iranian leaders such as Ruhollah Khomeini, Ali Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeatedly called Israel an "illegal entity" and even called for its destruction. Israel made several questionable attempts at reestablishing the alliance with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Israel also funded and armed Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, and assisted Iran in the sale of its oil. Turkey facilitated relations between Israel and Iran. Iranian Jews living in Israel would visit Turkey, mail their Israeli passports back to Israel, and enter Iran using their Iranian passports. Iranian government officials flew to Israel from Turkey, and did not stamp their passports.
As Turkey and Iran were the pillars of the alliance, the Kurds did not play a big role. However, Israel actively supported the Kurdish separatist movement in Iraq. Neither Turkey nor Iran wanted a Kurdish state on their borders, although the support for the Kurds in Iraq began in the mid-1960s with approval from Iran. Ben-Gurion urged Mossad to support the KDP "without stepping on Iranian and Turkish toes."