Speaking at the G-20 Summit in New Delhi, US President Joe Biden expressed his conviction that the announcement of the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, which would integrate the entire region with a railroad network, was one of the reasons Hamas launched a terrorist attack against Israel. Israel launched a massive counteroffensive against Hamas after the militant group’s unprecedented attacks on October 7 resulted in the deaths of more than 1,400 people. During a joint news conference with visiting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Biden informed reporters that his analysis is based solely on instinct and that he lacks supporting evidence.
“I’m convinced one of the reasons Hamas attacked when they did, and I have no proof of this, just my instinct tells me, is because of the progress we were making towards regional integration for Israel, and regional integration overall. We can’t leave that work behind,” Biden said.
Biden has brought up the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) as a possible explanation for the Hamas terrorist attack twice in less than a week. The leaders of the US, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Italy, and the European Union jointly announced the new economic corridor on the fringes of the G20 summit in September. Many view it as a rival to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The corridor consists of a northern corridor linking the Gulf region to Europe and an eastern corridor linking India to the Gulf region.
In the last few weeks, Biden claimed to have spoken with regional leaders such as King Abdullah of Jordan, President Sisi of Egypt, President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. He wanted to ensure that there was genuine hope for a better future in the region and that efforts needed to be made to further integrate Israel while maintaining that the aspirations of the Palestinian people would also be part of that future.