The Levantine Federation- A multi-ethnic state in the Middle East, resulting from a different outcome to the Arab-Israeli War, and a Syrian Civil War in the Sixties.
This map is from the year 2000, before this worlds equivalent of 9/11, and before an American invasion of the Arab Republic.
Members of the Levantine Federation -
Republic of the Lebanon - Christian majority state, with nearby Muslim Twelver populations annexed into the state during the Syrian Civil War. A large Jewish population was part of the ethno-religious balance in government, second-order refugees from Israel. Having received more migrants than in OTL, the population of Lebanon is higher, with 5m Christians (1.5m Americans), 3.5m Muslims, 2m Jews, and 1m others. (yes this is a lot of Christians, but it's with less emigration and more immigration)
State of Israel - Located inside the revised Bernadotte borders, later losing part of Acre in return for control over territory inside the Palestine Provisional State. With conditions cramped, displaced persons were often moved north, into Lebanon, where they were on permanent visas. From 1948 to 1975, Israel had an official claim over Jerusalem, controlling large portions of the city for long periods of this time. After 1975, the Special Council was accepted as protector of the holy city for all faiths. Today 5m people live in the coastal corridor, and inland to Galilee, 4.5m Jews, and 0.5m others.
Alawite State - Like the Lebanon and Israel, this state existed before the Levantine Federation. They formed almost immediately when the Syrian Civil War began. The Alawite State today has ambitions to directly incorporate the Hatay Autonomous Zone in Turkey, which it occupied during the 1980 War. The population is 4m, 3m Alawite, 0.5m Christian, and 0.5m Jewish.
Damascus City-State - Initially the Southern Occupation Zone, the region transitioned to become an independent state and member of the Levantine Federation, the locals preferring this to annexation by the Arab Republic.
Druze State - Mainly in one state located in southern Syria, with enclaves granted by Lebanon during the states formation. Most of the 4m Druze are citizens, about 0.5m live outside it's territory, and another 0.5m are citizens of other LF states.
Christian Republics of the Levantines - With a very complicated and enclaved border, the Christian Republics have a majority of Christians, in several semi-independent provinces. On one side is the Alawite State, the wealthiest and most highly educated region of the LF, on the other is the Interior Occupation Zone, the heavily militarized border with the Arab Republic, and a decades deep occupation with no end in sight. Immigration after 1975 came mainly from the USA, and resulted in new communities of English speakers sprinkled throughout the region. 4m citizens, 3.5m Christians, live in the CRotL, with the borders drawn carefully to ensure this majority, mainly at the expense of the occupation zone to the east.
Circassian State - Small ethnic state in the Golan Triangle. Civil rights for this minority improved greatly once they had a vote at the main table of the Levantine Federation, even if the choice of location was fairly arbitrary.
Kurdish State - Another small state, this time in northern Syria, on the border with Turkey. It is informally connected to the other Kurdistan, but is itself part of the LF.
Palestine Provisional State - Up to 1975, the Palestine Occupation Zone (with Israeli, Lebanese, French, and British occupying forces), after 1975, the Palestine Provisional State (under occupation by Levantine Federation forces). Fully incorporating the PPS as a normal state will mean solidifying the borders, which the State of Israel still challenges, and adding a massive new population to the Levantine Federation government. Internally support for normal membership is higher than for independence. If it joins, the Palestine State would be the largest in the Federation, at 12m people, 9m Muslims, 1m Jews, 1m Christians, and 1m others.
Jerusalem Special Council - Up to 1975, part of the Palestine Occupation Zone, after 1975, the Jerusalem Special Council has UN peacekeepers maintaining their borders, and local government that is mainly interested in remaining independent. During the 1980 War, Jerusalem itself was not touched by fighting, thanks to the efforts of fighters on the outskirts, and the Special Council had not yet agreed there was a war by the time the conflict ended, six weeks later.
Interior Occupation Zone - Between the Christian Republic of the Levantines and the Arab Republic, this territory is under occupation by Levantine Federal Forces, and has been for decades. Any moves by the Levantine Federation to integrate them are taken as hostile by the Arab Republic, while any moves for the region to become independent are rejected by the government of the Levantine Federation, and by many local leaders, due to fears that it will be immediately invaded.
Hatay Autonomous Zone - Inside Turkey, this region is populated by Alawites, and has aspirations to join the Alawite State. Ankara's warm reception of these demands seems to be, in part, to break the Alawite alliance with the Kurds, who also want to secede from part of Turkey, but also to solidify good relations with the LF.
Kurdistan - Not a member of the LF, but allied in every way. The Kurdish State sponsored by the LF in north Syria has not formally joined with Kurdistan, but movement between them is simple, and they're both aligned with independence factions in Turkey.
Arab Republic - Nationalist Arab state, formed of an alliance of the secular Ba'athist Party, and the traditionalist Emirates Party, who were opposed to the more fundamentalist religion of Saudi Arabia, and to the rival Islamic great power of Iran, and to the power of the Levantine Federation, and to the western-aligned Turkey. Internally, the Ba'athists are left-wing, isolationist, and more secular, while the Emirates are right-wing, interventionist, and less secular. Fought separate wars with Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Jordan between 1980 and 2000.
The Kingdom of Jordan - Traditionalist Arab state, under the Hashemite monarchy. They are now technical allies of the Levantine Federation.
The Republic of Egypt - Now an Islamic Republic, and starting to make noises about Palestine being their rightful territory again (as of 2000, they stopped quickly after the Arab Republic war).
Saudi Arabia - Still the Saudi monarchy on top of a radicalizing population, but does not survive the post-2000 interventions as a monarchy, becoming a moderate republic instead.
After the intervention in Syria had frozen into place, the Levantine Federation also had it's current roster of members. The Republic of Lebanon, State of Israel, Alawite State, and the Druze State were founding members in 1965, with occupation zones around the borders. The Christian Republics of the Levantines, the Circassian State, the and the Damascus City-State,
The Arab-Israeli War differs in two ways - the First Bernadotte Plan is taken under provisional acceptance, and Syria sees greater initial successes, and so attempts to annex Lebanon. The conflict peters out as the Egyptian and Jordanian alliance breaks down as Israeli forces are bogged down in Syria, and the truce sticks.
By 1952, Palestine is divided into three unrecognized occupation zones, the State of Israel in the north, Egypt's puppet Republic of Palestine in the southwest, and Jordan's West Bank provinces in the southeast, and Jerusalem is split between Egypt and Jordan, with Jewish/Israeli enclaves, all in a tense state of peace on good days, and shook by sectarian violence on most days.
In 1960, hostilities break out in Jerusalem, and Egypt and Jordan begin fighting along the rest of the border. Israel, supported by Lebanon, invades towards Jerusalem to attempt to annex Jewish areas, while Britain and France support both by air and by sea, and with invasions along the Sinai and Suez region. By the end of the conflict, the Palestinian Occupation Zone is present in the areas formerly controlled by Egypt and Jordan, Jerusalem is under international protection for local administration, and some areas with Jewish populations were de facto annexed into Israel, especially along the borders.
The Syrian Civil War broke out in the early Sixties, resulting in the immediate destruction of the ruling government, as part of the initial actions of the war. The alliance of Lebanon and Israel intervened in the region to ensure some stable states would exist on their northeast border. The first to join this alliance was the Alawite State, already extant before any intervention, followed by the Druze State and Christian Republic of the Levantines, created under occupation.
During this time, other parts of Syria were drawn into the quasi-fascist Arab Republic. In Syria it occupies Aleppo and most of the eastern desert, in Iraq, everywhere but a sliver of territory controlled by Kurdistan, as well as Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
In 1975, the western aligned powers of the Middle East were - the Levantine Federation, Turkey, and the Republic of Iran; while the eastern aligned powers were - Egypt, Jordan, and the Arab Republic; and the neutral powers included Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman. It was soon after this that the Arab Republic broke with the USSR, later known to be over the development of nuclear weapons outside the control of the Soviets,
The migration of American Christians to the Holy Land increased after 1975. Most ended up in Lebanon or the Christian Republic of the Levantines, if they are citizens there it is easier to get a visa for the Palestine Provisional State, and then easier still to make it to Jerusalem. 1.5m in Lebanon, and 1m in the Christian Republics, are American Christians, with at least one American grandparent.
Jewish migration came in equal numbers to OTL, but in different waves, and to different destinations. Most start by moving to the relatively smaller Israel, following this many move to other states in the LF, primarily Lebanon (2m) and the Alawite (0.5m) State, and to the Palestine Provisional State, where 1m now live.
In 1980, the 1980 War took place between the Levantine Federation and a surprise alliance of Jordan and Egypt, who invaded on two fronts. The Arab Republic and Saudi Arabia would have preferred the Levantine Federation to win, and so kept out of the conflict entirely.
The first phase of the war lasted two weeks, and saw all of mandatory Palestine come under the control of the joint forces of the Egyptian and Jordanian coalition. The only places that were not captured were the Jerusalem salient, and the Tel Aviv salient.
The second phase of the war involved a sweeping armored movement down through eastern Jordan, encircling Amman, and amphibious and airborne landings in the Sinai, disrupting supplies to forces in Palestine. At the same time, Israeli forces broke out of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and Palestinian insurgents controlled or contested wide areas of the countryside. In the fifth and sixth week, Coalition forces were interred, and a peace treaty was hammered out.
Modern historians believe that the LF was on the verge of using nuclear weapons, and the Arab Federation was on the verge of intervening, before the third week offensives were successful in Jordan.
This map is from 2000, just before American intervention in the region. This world had something like a 9/11 in February 2000, and part of the response was to invade the Arab Republic, a state which actually had nuclear weapons.