Israel and the GCC member states in a security architecture of the Middle Eastern Regional Security Complex
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RIS BIB ENDNOTEPublication date: 15.12.2025
Wschodnioznawstwo (Eastern Studies), 2025, Volume 19, pp. 313-336
https://doi.org/10.4467/20827695WSC.25.018.22831Authors
Israel and the GCC member states in a security architecture of the Middle Eastern Regional Security Complex
The six‑member states of the GCC, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, for a long time have neither recognized the existence of the state of Israel nor hold any official diplomatic relations with it. Despite this, their interactions existed and developed, changing from open hostility to neutrality and even cooperation in certain areas. However, because their mutual relations are complex and embedded in a network of internal and international connections, their development is strongly dependent on the security dynamics in the Middle East. Two factors have a particularly strong influence on the development of Israel’s relations with the GCC states: the Palestinian cause and the perception of the Iranian threat. This article explains the political and security interactions between GCC member states and Israel, their evolution, and their impact on the Middle Eastern regional order.
Despite the development in the Gulf states’ relations with Israel their scope remains limited and is driven largely by a common sense of the Iranian threat. Most relations remain informal, apart from Bahrain and the UAE, which have established official diplomatic relations. As the study shows the regional patterns of amity and enmity are durable, especially when it comes to the Gulf societies’ affection for the Palestinian cause and their aversion to Israel. The support for Palestinians in the Israeli‑Palestinian conflict still marks a red line that none of the Gulf states decides to cross.
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Information: Wschodnioznawstwo (Eastern Studies), 2025, Volume 19, pp. 313-336
Article type: Original scientific article
Titles:
University of Wroclaw
Poland
University of Wroclaw
Poland
Published at: 15.12.2025
Article status: Open
Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
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