The Geopolitics of Corridors: Israel’s New Strategy for Engineering Power in West Asia

By ipsc

August 4, 2025

By Fatemeh Khadem Shirazi
International Relations Researcher
International Peace Studies Centre – IPSC

Introduction

In recent decades, the Tel Aviv regime has leveraged regional instability to implement three strategic projects: Netzarim, Philadelphia, and David. These corridors are not merely geographic passageways but integral components of a cohesive geopolitical strategy aimed at altering regional balances, imposing human-economic blockades, and deepening political-security divisions across the Levant and Palestine. While Israel justifies these measures as defensive, analysts view them as part of an expansionist agenda pursued with U.S. support and global indifference. The central question is: What distinct geopolitical roles do these corridors play, and which holds greater strategic significance?

The Three Corridors: Functions and Implications

1. Netzarim Corridor: Dividing Gaza and Severing Vital Ties

The Netzarim Corridor, which separates northern Gaza from the south, epitomizes demographic and geographic engineering. Through large-scale land confiscation, destruction of infrastructure, and residential areas, it has severely disrupted Gaza’s psychological and human security. Israel’s control over this corridor systematically restricts civilian movement and access to essential resources, imposing a new reality on Gaza’s population, a move critics decry as violating fundamental rights and exacerbating humanitarian crises (1).

2. Philadelphia Corridor: Locking Down Southern Borders and Escalating Humanitarian Crisis

Located along Gaza’s border with Egypt, this corridor represents Gaza’s sole terrestrial link to the outside world (aside from Israel). Israel’s 2024 takeover of the strategic Rafah crossing intensified Gaza’s siege to unprecedented levels, nearly halting the flow of people, goods, and humanitarian aid (2). The resulting human, economic, and security repercussions have not only provoked Egypt’s reaction but also strained the 1979 peace treaty and ignited regional tensions (3). The corridor has since become a pivotal bargaining chip in ceasefire negotiations and a source of internal dissent in Israel’s government.

3. David Corridor: Geopolitical Ambitions and Regional Engineering

This corridor is a linchpin of Israel’s security and geopolitical strategy, envisioning a land route from the Golan Heights to north-eastern Syria and Iraqi Kurdistan. Beyond securing Israel’s northern borders and creating a buffer against the “Axis of Resistance” (notably Iran and Hezbollah), it is closely tied to projects such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), energy transit infrastructure and project led by U.S. and its allies; The David corridor is part of the broader great-power competition against the “China-Russia-Iran” axis (4, 5).

Local Dynamics:

The role of Druze and Kurdish groups has gained a significant importance in this corridor. Israel’s support for Druze and Kurdish groups, through funding, security cooperation, and intelligence, aims to fracture Syria’s demographic and political fabric, undermining Damascus and curtailing Iranian influence (6, 7). However, Syria, backed by Iran and Russia, alongside Türkiye’s vigilance over ethnic movements, has sought to obstruct the corridor’s advancement (8). Kurdish factions in Syria and Iraq navigate dual roles, oscillating between collaboration with Western-Israeli projects and caution toward reactions from Damascus, Ankara, and Tehran (9, 10).

Regional and Global Dimensions:

From a regional perspective, this corridor is linked to economic-infrastructure projects such as IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe Corridor) and possesses the potential to become a strategic artery for energy competition, trade, and military influence. Its objectives extend beyond Syria or Lebanon, significantly complicating regional relations.

However, a comprehensive technical analysis of the David Corridor’s design and implementation remains lacking—particularly regarding its impact on population displacement, shifts in trade and energy patterns, and how local and external actors leverage this passageway to advance their geopolitical agendas.

Furthermore, the conflict zones and challenges arising from clashing interests among regional states, especially the explicit or implicit reactions of Türkiye, Iran, and Russia, have not been sufficiently examined.

Strategic Synergies and Consequences

These three corridors function as interlocking pieces of a geopolitical puzzle, designed primarily to fragment and besiege Palestinian territories and the Levant region. They systematically obstruct demographic connectivity and prevent the return of displaced populations. By enabling centralized control over economic, human, and security mobility across the region, these corridors not only threaten to fundamentally alter the geopolitical architecture of the Middle East but also severely undermine prospects for sustainable development and regional integration (11) (12).

Humanitarian and Political Fallout:

The effects and consequences of these strategies manifest primarily through demographic shifts and forced displacement, resulting in refugee crises and altered population compositions in target regions (13). These conditions precipitate political destabilization and erode the legitimacy of local governance structures, while the proliferation of proxy warfare and deepening sectarian-ethnic divisions expose the region to more profound crises (14, 15).

This environment fosters the growth of secessionist movements, generating new waves of instability that will confront Iraq, Syria, and even Türkiye with heightened challenges (16). Ultimately, mounting international pressure against Israel, stemming from humanitarian crisis and intensifying global condemnation, is poised to significantly influence future regional power dynamics (17).

Third-Party Actors and Implementation Challenges

Current Dynamics in West Asia (as of Summer 2025)

The role of third-party actors and the implementation challenges facing Israeli projects, particularly corridor initiatives like David, Netzarim, and Philadelphia, have become increasingly decisive and multidimensional. Iran and Türkiye, as key regional players, are leveraging proxy capabilities, diplomatic manoeuvres, and security measures to obstruct the full realization of Israel’s regional strategies. This approach has gained particular significance following the outbreak of the Gaza crisis in Fall 2023 and subsequent geopolitical developments (18, 19).

At the systemic level, the United States pursues a dual strategy of supporting regional allies while monitoring Russian and Chinese activities, aiming to manage the geopolitical balance in ways that safeguard its energy and security interests while constraining rivals (20, 21).

Russia, for its part, seeks to capitalize on regional instability to consolidate its position in Syria while maintaining access to Mediterranean shores. Meanwhile, China pursues a predominantly economic approach through initiatives like the Belt and Road Project to cement its long-term regional role (22).

Egypt faces a precarious balancing act due to its historical Camp David commitments and geopolitical position. Cairo must navigate between maintaining security redlines and accommodating domestic public opinion alongside Arab state pressures, a dilemma that renders its policymaking both complex and fragile. This vulnerability became particularly evident during developments at the Rafah crossing in the recent crisis (23, 24).

The emergence of media and narrative warfare, particularly during the Gaza crisis (2023-2025), have become a critical tool for influencing global public opinion, shaping government decision-making, and legitimizing geopolitical projects. State and non-state actors have effectively employed organized media campaigns to redirect public sentiment, apply political pressure, and even alter on-the-ground policy decisions (25, 26).

Ultimately, the region’s developments over the past two years reveal that third-party actors have become pivotal not merely in opposing or enabling Israeli projects, but in fundamentally transforming the regional security calculus, particularly concerning energy security, ethno-religious identity dynamics, and the reconfiguration of geopolitical power structures. As such, forecasting the region’s trajectory now necessitates systematic tracking of these actors’ strategic behaviour and grand strategic postures.

Prospects and Regional Pathways

Absent the formation of regional solutions grounded in dialogue, constructive engagement, and strict respect for national sovereignty, the projects advanced by Israel will not terminate the prevailing crises; rather, they will inaugurate a new cycle of geostrategic rivalry and tension. In the current circumstances, the cultivation of multilateral regional diplomacy can serve as a catalyst for mutual understanding and the mitigation of misperceptions, thereby furnishing an enabling environment for the management of disputes and the containment of secessionist projects.

In this context, sustained international and media emphasis on human-rights norms and on the imperative of adherence to international law amplifies pressure on the architects of such projects and delegitimises unilateral measures. Further, enhanced coordination among actors opposed to secessionist and fragmentationist policies and the formation of a unified front can tangibly diminish the efficacy of these projects and contribute to a recalibration of the regional balance of power. Collectively, these measures constitute a strategic pathway for mitigating the negative effects of current trends and for fostering long-term stability and security across the region.