Could Egypt and Turkey team up against Israel?

(AI)
(AI)

In a worst-case confrontation, these powers could execute a classic pincer movement.

By Hezy Laing

The ongoing neutralization of Iran’s regional network drastically altered Israel’s security paradigm, effectively weakening the immediate border threats posed by Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

However, this triumph has inadvertently exposed Israel to a more formidable secondary tier of conventional state adversaries.

Geopolitical shifts indicate that Egypt, led by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and Turkey, under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, may be aligning strategies to attack Israel.

This potential axis is fueled by surging antisemitism in both nations.

Turkish state media routinely amplifies anti-Jewish rhetoric, while Egyptian talk shows and state-approved publications have normalized hostile narratives, shifting public sentiment from anti-Zionist to overtly antisemitic.

Both nations possess massive, rapidly modernizing militaries.

Turkey’s Armed Forces boast over 350,000 active personnel, utilizing domestically produced Altay tanks and Bayraktar TB3 combat drones.

Egypt’s military features 440,000 active troops, over 1,000 American-made M1A1 Abrams tanks, and newly acquired French Rafale fighter jets.

Erdogan has explicitly threatened direct intervention against Jerusalem, while el-Sisi’s government has quietly overseen a massive infrastructure build-up in the Sinai Peninsula.

Egypt has constructed an expansive network of tunnels under the Suez Canal, reinforced concrete fuel depots, and built multi-lane military highways capable of rapidly deploying heavy armor directly to the Israeli border, bypassing the demilitarization spirit of the Camp David Accords.

In a worst-case confrontation, these powers could execute a classic pincer movement.

Turkey would project power from the north, utilizing its blue-water navy to impose a maritime blockade in the Eastern Mediterranean while launching long-range TAYFUN ballistic missiles.

Simultaneously, Egypt would launch a massive mechanized ground assault from the south, pushing armored divisions through the Sinai toward the Negev Desert, trapping Israel in a high-intensity, multi-front vice.

Israel’s defense strategy relies on technological superiority and rapid mobilization.

The Israel Defense Forces would utilize the Arrow 3 and David’s Sling air defense systems to neutralize Turkish missile salvos.

At sea, Sa’ar 6-class corvettes equipped with Gabriel V anti-ship missiles would defend vital gas fields and break maritime blockades.

Likud MK Amit Halevi has been especially vocal of the growing threat.

“You see the two huge armies of Egypt and Turkey, which are investing huge sums, and what are we doing?” demanded MK Halevi.

“Two superpowers that are in a terrible economic crisis and yet choose to strengthen their military on a scale unprecedented in their history, and they are doing this at a time when antisemitic content within them is also reaching a high in years, and all under the direction of the state. What dare we doing about it?”

 

12 Comments

  1. Sam Finkel

    May 18, 2026

    As usual, the government and military react after the fact.

  2. João Martins

    May 18, 2026

    Who could believe that a peace treaty with a muslim country like Egypt was to be taken seriously by that country? I don’t want to believe that Israel was that naive, but since it allowed Egypt to build all that millitary aparatus in the Sinai, i just don’t know what to think about…

  3. Larry Alvarado

    May 18, 2026

    Could they? You bet they can and probably will, just a little more time, sorry to say.

  4. Jose Israel Martinez

    May 18, 2026

    Another 7 day war? Maybe two days; day one destroy Egypt anex entire Sinai, day 2 Arm the Kurds.

  5. joyful2995fa423f

    May 18, 2026

    perhaps time to whisper in the ears of these muslims: remember the nukes that “we don’t have.” FAFO

  6. Steve Schreiber

    May 18, 2026

    Egypt should be careful and think twice before they attack Israel because Israel may bomb their Aswan Dam that will cause a great disaster in Egypt, On the other hand Turkey has a lot of Infrastructure that Israel could attack. Having said this Israel a lot more options.

  7. Edward Weinberg

    May 18, 2026

    The surrounding Arab counties could have always been a formidable block (since even before 1948), but lucky for us they all hate each other as much (of maybe more) that they hate us!!

  8. fmlondon

    May 18, 2026

    And don’t forget, it is all bankrolled by the Sunni Iran, Qatar.

  9. norman hughes

    May 18, 2026

    If God be for us (Israel) who can be against us.
    The battle is mine says the Lord

  10. Efraim Mendelovici

    May 18, 2026

    A colusion of Egypt and Turky against Israel is highly improbable. Both countries are suported by the USA which would oppose such an attack against Israel. Aditionaly, Erdogan is a representative of the Moslem Brothers group in Turky whereas AlSisy overthrew and banned this group in Egypt

    • Dr.Richard Silverberg

      May 18, 2026

      I would prepare to use biological,chemical and nuclear weapons !

  11. abe Katz

    May 18, 2026

    That’s what nuclear weapons are for. Do they expect Israel to rollover and let Egypt and Turkey destroy it without repercussions? The end of Israel will be the end of Egypt and Turkey as well.

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