While US Central Command and the Israeli Air Force focus on confronting the “head of the snake” in Tehran, infrastructure across the Middle East – from ports to desalination facilities – is being damaged, the real battle over the region’s future will not be decided only on the battlefield. It will also unfold in a very different arena: international development and finance.
Israel now has an opportunity not only to respond to regional realities but also to help shape them. By leading a regional Marshall Plan, Israel could contribute to building a more stable Middle East.
The Marshall Plan was named after George Marshall, a senior US military officer during World War II who later served as US Secretary of State. He led a series of large-scale programs that helped rebuild Europe from the devastation of war. In 1953, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
The plan was built on a vision that looked beyond the ruins and smoke of war and, through broad partnerships and generous financial instruments, helped create the economic and political foundations necessary for stable and productive states.
In recent years, there has been growing interest in regional cooperation between Israel and Gulf States in international development initiatives that support developing countries in the Middle East and beyond in building stable, secure, and productive infrastructure.
Israel shares objectives with the Gulf states
In an earlier analysis that I conducted together with Lior Dabush, we found that while Israel and the leading Gulf States differ in the scale of their investments in the Global South, they share several geopolitical objectives.
They also tend to focus on similar sectors – food security, health, and technological innovation – and place strong emphasis on working with international development finance institutions such as the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and others.
Despite the far-reaching geopolitical shifts across the region, these strategies remain a key component of the Gulf States’ foreign policy. For example, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) leads the Lives and Livelihoods Fund (LLF), whose partners include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and the Gates Foundation.
Another initiative, led by the UAE and the Gates Foundation, promotes agricultural technologies aimed at supporting smallholder farmers in developing countries. In recent months, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have also announced multi-billion-dollar investment commitments in Africa, both directly and through the African Development Bank (AfDB).
As with many major developments in the region, there is also a clear American dimension. Despite confrontational rhetoric and the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Trump administration continues to provide strong political and financial backing to international development finance institutions, particularly the World Bank.
Moreover, the US has increased more than threefold the capital allocation to its development finance institution, the Development Finance Corporation (DFC). The DFC is expected to invest roughly $200 billion in projects across developing countries in the coming years, supporting both American foreign policy goals and US economic interests.
Against the backdrop of recent developments in the region, the opportunity for Israel to take part in a broader regional initiative modeled on the Marshall Plan – together with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, and supported by international development banks – remains relevant and may, in fact, be more urgent than ever.
What can Israel contribute to such an initiative?
Technology is the easy answer - but not necessarily the only one. Israeli technologies can certainly help address many of the region’s pressing challenges. But exporting technology alone will not succeed unless Israel is also a genuine partner in planning and financing projects, and unless all partners commit to achieving clear and measurable outcomes.
Beyond the technology sector, Israel possesses a broad ecosystem of companies with experience in infrastructure projects in developing countries, civil society organizations specializing in delivering services to vulnerable populations and providing humanitarian assistance in emergencies and disasters, and professionals skilled in adapting innovation to the complex realities of regions and communities affected by war and crisis.
Such joint projects could first be implemented in Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan, and countries in Africa; later in Syria and Lebanon; and eventually – perhaps even in today’s conflict zones such as Iran, Yemen, and Afghanistan.
Israel’s international development and humanitarian community is not a “humanitarian accessory.” It is a strategic asset.
On the day after the war, Israel will not be judged only by its missile interception capabilities but also by its ability to help build regional “resilience corridors” together with Gulf partners and the United States - and to work with neighboring countries to address the major challenges facing the region.
International development is not philanthropy. It is the new realism of the Middle East.
Zafrir Asaf is chair of SID Israel, the umbrella organization of Israel’s international development and humanitarian aid community.