Israel leverages Abraham Accords to become ‘global communications power’

Israeli government ministries on Sunday approved a plan to lay fiber-optic cables along the oil pipeline between Eilat and Ashkelon.

The creation of an international communications corridor along the Europe Asia Pipeline Co. (EAPC) would allow for the transmission of digital data between Asian countries, with an emphasis on Abraham Accords nations, to Europe and the West, said Israeli officials.

Israel believes this will lead to investment by international companies, the establishment of server farms, economic growth, the creation of jobs and more, and “catapult Israel’s economy to new heights.”

“Today we are reaping more fruit of the historic Abraham Accords that we brought. We will connect fiber-optic cables from Asia, Arab nations, from Eilat to Ashkelon and the rest of the world. This will attract investors and turn Israel into a global communications center. This will jump-start the Israeli economy,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Trump administration-brokered Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and four Arab countries—the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

“This is certainly major news, mainly for the South and the cities of the periphery,” said Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, adding: “In [Saturday’s] Torah portion, we read [Numbers 13:17]:' ‘Go up here into the Negev, and go up into the mountains.’ Together, we have already conquered the summit of this mountain and, with God’s help, we will yet conquer more mountains.”

In its statement, the PMO referenced the Spice Route, one of the most well-known and important trade routes of antiquity, extending from the southern Arabian Peninsula to the Mediterranean Sea coast. It was part of a network of trade routes between Europe and the East, along which goods such as spices, silk, precious stones, dyes and exotic animals were transported.

“Today, in the modern digital world, the products are information, knowledge and technology. We are again turning the State of Israel into the vital route of the world through which will pass knowledge and bits along fiber optic cables that will link Asia and Europe,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.