News – Middle East: Strategic affairs expert Mohammed Hazima said the Israeli entity’s recognition of the so-called “Somaliland” region cannot be viewed in isolation from ongoing US-Israeli moves across the region, describing it as part of a wide-ranging strategic offensive aimed at reshaping the Middle East and controlling vital maritime corridors, particularly the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea.

In remarks to Almasirah TV, Hazima stressed that the step should be understood within the context of competing geopolitical projects, arguing that Washington has begun playing what he described as its “final cards” in the region. He said the United States is seeking to reorganize the political, military, economic, and intelligence landscape in a way that serves the American-Israeli agenda and creates vulnerabilities to weaken opposing fronts.

Hazima warned that the so-called “New Middle East” project has moved beyond theory and is now being implemented in practice, expanding gradually and extending beyond Palestine and its immediate surroundings. He said the project is rooted in Israeli expansionist ambitions under what is referred to as the “Greater Israel” doctrine.

He pointed out that control over the southern Red Sea, particularly the Bab al-Mandab Strait, represents a central pillar of this strategy. According to Hazima, Zionist expansionist thinking has long emphasized such objectives, citing historical statements by Israeli leaders and referencing remarks made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in September 2024, when he displayed a map of “Greater Israel” extending into the Arabian Peninsula and including Sinai, Lebanon, the West Bank, and parts of Jordan.

Hazima explained that the US-Israeli project focuses on dominating key maritime chokepoints to secure oil flows and control regional wealth, identifying both the Suez Canal and Bab al-Mandab as strategic foundations of this approach. He said control over Bab al-Mandab would effectively grant leverage over global trade and enhance Israel’s regional and international influence.

He added that Washington has not concealed its intentions, whether through its unwavering support for the Israeli entity or through partition projects affecting states across the region, including US allies whose roles, he argued, have been exhausted, paving the way for the dismantling and reconfiguration of existing entities to suit American-Israeli interests.

Hazima emphasized that developments in the Horn of Africa and Yemen are organically linked, forming part of a broader attempt to dominate the southern Red Sea. He said Yemen has been specifically targeted because it represents an ideological and military force fundamentally opposed to the Israeli project and has demonstrated its ability to confront the United States, Europe, and their regional allies.

The Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region have witnessed growing geopolitical competition amid heightened tensions over maritime security and trade routes. Recent Israeli engagement with “Somaliland,” an unrecognized self-declared entity in northern Somalia, has drawn regional attention, particularly in light of ongoing conflicts involving Yemen and escalating disputes over control of strategic waterways such as Bab al-Mandab, a critical chokepoint for global shipping and energy supplies.