King about to be surrounded by river people in the Middle East (8)

I believe the answer is:

israelis

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

But I can't explain it at all! Could you help me understand?

(Other definitions for israelis that I've seen before include "Middle-Easterners?" , "people in Middle East" , "People in republic" , "They might live in Tel Aviv, say" , "people from the Med?" .)

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app