Greater Israel
Zionist territorial vision of a Jewish state in expanded, often biblical, borders, including parts of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt
Greater Israel is a term for a Jewish state in borders larger than those of "Israel" before 1967, usually defined by biblical or historical claims. The Times of Israel notes that it "has many versions, some of which include parts of today's Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia". After the 1967 war it was used for "Israel" together with the territories it had just occupied: East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai and the Golan Heights.[1] The maximal version, "from the Nile to the Euphrates", rests on God's promise to Abraham in Genesis.[2]
Early Zionist statements
Israel Shahak's 1982 edition of the Yinon Plan opens with two quotations. It cites Theodor Herzl's Complete Diaries (vol. II, p. 711) as saying that the Jewish state stretches "From the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates". It also quotes Rabbi Fischmann of the Jewish Agency telling the UN Special Committee on Palestine on 9 July 1947: "The Promised Land extends from the River of Egypt up to the Euphrates, it includes parts of Syria and Lebanon."[3] The Times of Israel writes that Ze'ev Jabotinsky, forerunner of the Likud, used the phrase for present-day Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and Jordan.[1]
Lebanon and the Litani
In 1919 Chaim Weizmann wrote to the British prime minister, David Lloyd George, that "the Northern Frontier of Palestine should include the Valley of the Litany [Litani], for a distance of 25 miles above the bend".[4] On 24 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion wrote in his diary: "Lebanon is the weak link in the Arab coalition… A Christian state should be established with the Litani [River] as its southern border. We'll form an alliance with it."[5] See Litani River.
The Yinon Plan, 1982
In February 1982 Oded Yinon argued in Kivunim, a journal of the World Zionist Organization, that "Lebanon's total dissolution into five provinces serves as a precedent for the entire Arab world" and that the break-up of Syria and Iraq was "Israel's primary target on the Eastern front in the long run".[6]
Recent statements
Netanyahu, 2025
On 12 August 2025 an i24 interviewer, Sharon Gal, gave Benjamin Netanyahu an amulet showing "a map of the Promised Land" and asked if he connected to the vision. Netanyahu answered "Very much". When Gal stressed "It is Greater Israel", Netanyahu replied "If you ask me, we are here" and turned to his generation's mission. The exchange was cut from i24's YouTube versions.[1] Middle East Eye reported that the vision includes "occupied Palestinian territory as well as parts of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon".[7]
Smotrich, 2023 and 2026
In March 2023 Bezalel Smotrich spoke in Paris at a podium draped with a map of "Israel" that included the West Bank, Gaza "and most of Jordan".[8] In March 2026 he said "the new Israeli border must be the Litani".[9]
Huckabee, 2026
In February 2026 the US ambassador, Mike Huckabee, told Tucker Carlson that "it would be fine if they took it all", when asked about the land from "the wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates".[2] He then said Israel was "asking to at least take the land that they now occupy", and called his remark somewhat "hyperbolic".[10]
Settler movements
In May 2026 Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the lines between areas A, B and C of the West Bank to be erased, saying "All the Land of Israel belongs to us", and said that "Israel" had a "settlement plan for Lebanon".[11] The Uri Tzafon campaign envisages Israel's northern border "extending to at least the Litani river", according to AFP; Roya News reported that some members of its online forum describe a Greater Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates.[12][13] Daniella Weiss of Nachala said in June 2026 that all areas conquered in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria "must be dotted immediately" with settlements.[14]
Reactions
After the Netanyahu interview, Egypt "demanded clarifications" and Saudi Arabia rejected "the settlement and expansionist plans adopted by the Israeli occupation".[15] More than a dozen Arab and Muslim governments called Huckabee's comments "dangerous and inflammatory".[10]
See also
- The Yinon Plan - A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties
- Litani River
- Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Times of Israel, Netanyahu says he's on a 'historic and spiritual mission,' also feels a connection to vision of Greater Israel The Times of Israel, 12 August 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Edward Helmore, US envoy Mike Huckabee says it would be 'fine' if Israel took all Middle East land The Guardian, 20 February 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ Israel Shahak (translator and editor), The Zionist Plan for the Middle East Belmont, Massachusetts: Association of Arab-American University Graduates, Special Document No. 1, 1982, accessed 22 October 2026 (critical).
- ↑ PALCIT, Quotation from Chaim Weizmann "Our claims to the north are imperatively demanded by the requirements of modern economic life" – 1919 PALCIT, citing Jewish Observer and Middle East Review, 16 November 1973, p. 22, accessed 22 October 2026 (critical).
- ↑ David Ben-Gurion, Diary, 24 May 1948 The Ben-Gurion Archive, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, accessed 22 October 2026 (Israeli-side).
- ↑ Oded Yinon, A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties Kivunim, no. 14, February 1982, English translation, Internet Archive copy, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ MEE staff, Netanyahu says he backs 'Greater Israel', which includes parts of Jordan and Egypt Middle East Eye, 13 August 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ Hadas Gold, Amir Tal and Abeer Salman, Israeli minister says there's 'no such thing as a Palestinian people,' inviting US rebuke CNN, 21 March 2023, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ Tamar Uriel-Beeri and Maya Gebeily, Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon Reuters, 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Maia Davies, US ambassador's Israel comments condemned by Arab and Muslim nations BBC News, 22 February 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ L'Orient Today, Ben Gvir discusses Israel's 'settlement plan' for south Lebanon L'Orient Today, 15 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ Alice Chancellor, 'Promised to us': The Israelis dreaming of settling south Lebanon Al-Monitor (AFP), 13 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ Roya News, Israeli extremist publishes updated map promoting land sales in southern Lebanon Roya News, accessed 22 October 2026 (Jordanian).
- ↑ Israel National News, Daniella Weiss: The response to Trump – Jewish settlements in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria Arutz Sheva, 19 June 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ CNN, Israel says it is in talks with several countries about taking in displaced Palestinians CNN, 14 August 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.