Israel is in the process of building an axis to counter the Sunni and Shi’ite axes, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an address to Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) leadership on Tuesday.
“We have a great interest in creating our own axis; an axis of countries that oppose both axes of radical Islam,” the prime minister said.
The axis includes many countries, a “circle that embraces the Middle East. I want to use the biblical phrase, which is appropriate for Purim: ‘from India to Ethiopia,’ ” he said, quoting the description of the Persian Empire given in the Book of Esther, which is recited on the Jewish holiday of Purim, celebrated next week.
Netanyahu signaled earlier this week he intends to advance his vision of a new anti-terror axis during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel, which starts on Wednesday.
“The intention is to create an axis of nations that see eye-to-eye regarding the reality, challenges and goals against the radical axes—both the radical Shi’ite axis, which we have struck very hard, as well as the emerging radical Sunni axis,” Netanyahu said during the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday, speaking of Modi’s upcoming trip.
In a speech to Knesset lawmakers late last year, Netanyahu warned of emerging threats, in what was reportedly a reference to Turkey and Qatar’s expanding regional influence following Iran’s weakening in the June 2025 war.
Also on Tuesday, the prime minister took the opportunity to express his full confidence in the Shin Bet’s new director, David Zini.
Regarding Hamas, he reiterated Israel’s war aim to completely disarm the terror group and demilitarize the Gaza Strip and noted this goal is agreed upon by the Board of Peace, the new body formed by the Trump administration to govern Gaza.
“Either it will happen the easy way, or it will happen the hard way, but it will happen. Then, we will ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel. There is only one force that can guarantee this. This, of course, will be our growing security responsibility,” he said.
Netanyahu congratulated the Shin Bet on battling terror in Judea and Samaria, saying its combined operations with the Israel Defense Forces within the refugee camps have saved many lives.
The prime minister also said that the “reservoir” of hundreds of thousands of illegal weapons in Israel’s Arab sector must be reduced, a mission for which he said the Shin Bet has mobilized.
“We want a state with law: not a Wild West, not a Wild South, and not a Wild North,” he said.
