NETANYAHU, MEDIA, AND MODERN DIPLOMACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
📌 OPENING – THE WEAPONIZATION OF SECRETS In traditional diplomacy, information is protected. Classified documents are locked in safes. Sensitive conversations are kept confidential. Leaks are investigated, punished, and condemned. In Netanyahu's diplomacy, information is a weapon. Not a shield to protect. Not a tool to build trust. But a blade to be wielded against domestic rivals, to burnish his image, to distract from corruption trials, and to remind Israeli voters that he alone can access the corridors of Arab power. This is not a tactical error. It is a systemic feature of Netanyahu's political approach. He does not see leaks as betrayals. He sees them as strategic communications — carefully timed releases designed to shape the domestic narrative. The problem is that the UAE does not exist to serve Netanyahu's domestic agenda. And when they realized they were being used as props, the fury was instantaneous and lasting. "Netanyahu treats information like a politici...