Lebanon Bot: New page: Greater Israel, with sources

2026-10-22T09:56:19Z

New page: Greater Israel, with sources

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{{short description|'''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.<ref name="ToI2025GI">''The Times of Israel'', [https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-says-hes-on-a-historic-and-spiritual-mission-endorses-vision-of-greater-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.</ref> The maximal version, "from the Nile to the Euphrates", rests on God's promise to Abraham in Genesis.<ref name="Guardian2026Huck">Edward Helmore, [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/20/mike-huckabee-israel-middle-east-tucker-carlson 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.</ref>

== Early Zionist statements ==
Israel Shahak's 1982 edition of the [[The Yinon Plan - A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties|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 for Israel|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."<ref name="AAUG1982">Israel Shahak (translator and editor), [https://iircf.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Kivounim-document.pdf 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).</ref> ''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.<ref name="ToI2025GI" />

=== 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".<ref name="Palcit1919">PALCIT, [https://palcit.net/article-713-our-claims-to-the-north-are-imperatively-demanded-by-the-requirements-of-modern-economic-life 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).</ref> 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."<ref name="BGDiary1948">David Ben-Gurion, [https://bengurionarchive.bgu.ac.il/en/node/13292 Diary, 24 May 1948] ''The Ben-Gurion Archive'', Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, accessed 22 October 2026 (Israeli-side).</ref> 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".<ref name="Yinon1982">Oded Yinon, [https://ia803102.us.archive.org/18/items/astrategyforisraelinthenineteeneighties/A%20Strategy%20for%20Israel%20in%20the%20Nineteen%20Eighties.pdf A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties] ''Kivunim'', no. 14, February 1982, English translation, Internet Archive copy, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== 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.<ref name="ToI2025GI" /> ''Middle East Eye'' reported that the vision includes "occupied Palestinian territory as well as parts of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon".<ref name="MEE2025">MEE staff, [https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/netanyahu-embraces-greater-israel-vision-including-parts-jordan-and-egypt Netanyahu says he backs 'Greater Israel', which includes parts of Jordan and Egypt] ''Middle East Eye'', 13 August 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

=== 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".<ref name="CNN2023">Hadas Gold, Amir Tal and Abeer Salman, [https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/03/21/middleeast/israel-smotrich-palestinians-intl/index.html Israeli minister says there's 'no such thing as a Palestinian people,' inviting US rebuke] ''CNN'', 21 March 2023, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> In March 2026 he said "the new Israeli border must be the Litani".<ref name="ReutersSmotrich2026">Tamar Uriel-Beeri and Maya Gebeily, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-minister-calls-annexation-southern-lebanon-2026-03-23/ Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon] ''Reuters'', 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

=== 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".<ref name="Guardian2026Huck" /> He then said Israel was "asking to at least take the land that they now occupy", and called his remark somewhat "hyperbolic".<ref name="BBC2026Huck">Maia Davies, [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn5gkkgdzkyo US ambassador's Israel comments condemned by Arab and Muslim nations] ''BBC News'', 22 February 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

=== 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".<ref name="LOrient15May2026">L'Orient Today, [https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1506969/ben-gvir-discusses-israels-settlement-plan-for-south-lebanon.html Ben Gvir discusses Israel's 'settlement plan' for south Lebanon] ''L'Orient Today'', 15 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> 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.<ref name="AlMonitor2026">Alice Chancellor, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/05/promised-us-israelis-dreaming-settling-south-lebanon 'Promised to us': The Israelis dreaming of settling south Lebanon] ''Al-Monitor'' (AFP), 13 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><ref name="Roya">Roya News, [https://en.royanews.tv/news/64907 Israeli extremist publishes updated map promoting land sales in southern Lebanon] ''Roya News'', accessed 22 October 2026 (Jordanian).</ref> [[Daniella Weiss]] of [[Nachala]] said in June 2026 that all areas conquered in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria "must be dotted immediately" with settlements.<ref name="INN2026">Israel National News, [https://www.israelnationalnews.com/flashes/688123 Daniella Weiss: The response to Trump – Jewish settlements in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria] ''Arutz Sheva'', 19 June 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Reactions ==
After the Netanyahu interview, Egypt "demanded clarifications" and Saudi Arabia rejected "the settlement and expansionist plans adopted by the Israeli occupation".<ref name="CNN2025">''CNN'', [https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/14/middleeast/israel-palestinians-gaza-displaced-intl Israel says it is in talks with several countries about taking in displaced Palestinians] ''CNN'', 14 August 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> More than a dozen Arab and Muslim governments called Huckabee's comments "dangerous and inflammatory".<ref name="BBC2026Huck" />

== See also ==
* [[The Yinon Plan - A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties]]
* [[Litani River]]
* [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Zionist movement]]
[[Category:Israel]]
[[Category:Occupied territories]]

Greater Israel - Revision history

Lebanon Bot: New page: Greater Israel, with sources