In recent days, social media has seen the resurgence of an old television interview with Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. In this interview, he openly discusses ambitions to establish complete control over the so-called “Promised Greater Israel,” which includes not only the entirety of Palestine but also parts of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
Although these statements date back to 2016, Smotrich’s stance has remained unchanged. He has previously advocated for the direct expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank and even called for the obliteration of entire villages, notably when he commented on the town of Huwara near Nablus.
Since October 7, 2023, the “Religious Zionism” movement has taken center stage in Israeli politics. Several ministers and members of the Knesset have made statements calling for the use of nuclear bombs on Gaza, rebuilding settlements in the Gaza Strip, and establishing “Greater Israel.”
The Origins of the “Greater Israel” Idea
The concept of “Greater Israel” is rooted in what Zionists false claims to be a divine promise to Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him), granting his descendants land stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates. Israeli leaders have long used this promise to justify their occupation of Palestinian land.
The Torah, in the Book of Genesis, states: “On that day, God made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants, I give this land from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.'”
While Zionists generally agree on the “divine promise” of “Greater Israel,” there are significant disagreements on its precise boundaries. Some religious scholars identify the Euphrates River in Iraq as one of the borders, but there’s disagreement over whether the Nile refers to the Wadi of Arish in the Sinai Peninsula or the Nile River itself.
The Creation of the Israeli State
Using this so-called divine promise as justification, Zionist militias occupied Palestinian lands in 1948, displacing and killing many Palestinians. Some of these militias, such as the Irgun, even carried banners displaying the map of “Greater Israel.”
David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, famously declared: “The current map of Palestine is just a map of the Mandate. The Jewish people have another map that the youth of Israel must realize—the map of the Torah that includes Israel from the Tigris to the Nile.”
In the early years of the Israeli state, politicians avoided discussing “Greater Israel” openly to avoid international backlash, though the intention was clear.
The 1967 War and the Dream of Expansion
The Six-Day War in 1967 rekindled the Zionist dream of territorial expansion after Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, and parts of the Syrian Golan Heights.
A month after the war, the “Land of Greater Israel” movement emerged, with Zionist politicians and thinkers advocating for the retention and settlement of the occupied territories.
In 1973, the “Greater Israel” movement joined forces with the Likud Party and other right-wing factions, achieving significant success in the Israeli Knesset, marking the largest victory for the right-wing since the state’s founding.
The Rise of Religious Zionism and the Right Wing
The 1973 war marked a turning point for “Religious Zionism,” as Israel’s defeat and withdrawal from Sinai shocked expansionist supporters. This defeat led to the rise of right-wing parties, with the “Greater Israel” movement merging into the Likud Party, which won the 1977 elections and formed the first right-wing government in Israel’s history.
Menachem Begin, the first Likud Prime Minister, was a staunch advocate of Jewish settlement in the West Bank and Gaza, and his government laid the groundwork for more aggressive expansion.
The Radical Religious Movement of Meir Kahane
During this period, Rabbi Meir Kahane emerged as a prominent figure, founding the extremist right-wing party “Kach,” which declared that the land of Israel belongs exclusively to Jews and called for the forced expulsion of Palestinians.
Kahane was arrested in 1980 after plans were discovered to use weapons and explosives to attack Palestinians. Although released within months, his movement grew, deeply influencing Israeli society. Kahane’s ideology laid the foundation for other extremist movements, including Itamar Ben-Gvir’s “Jewish Power” party, which now holds significant influence in Israeli politics.
The “Yinon Plan”
In 1982, the magazine “Kivunim,” linked to the World Zionist Organization, published a study titled “A Strategy for Israel in the 1980s,” written by Oded Yinon. This document proposed the fragmentation of Arab states through sectarian conflict as part of Israel’s expansionist agenda.
Yinon’s plan envisioned dividing Iraq into separate Kurdish, Shia, and Sunni states and splitting countries like Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and others into smaller, weaker entities to ensure Israeli dominance.
Religious Zionism’s Role in Today’s Israel
Since the Oslo Accords, Religious Zionist factions have opposed any peace agreements, organizing protests and resisting territorial concessions. When Israel withdrew unilaterally from Gaza in 2005, these groups were further emboldened, and their influence grew in both the military and political arenas.
Today, politicians like Smotrich and Ben-Gvir openly advocate for the expulsion of Palestinians, the annexation of the West Bank, and the creation of “Greater Israel.”
The Future of “Greater Israel”
Since October 7, 2023, following the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation by Palestinian resistance forces, Israeli religious-nationalist leaders have escalated their calls for violence, expulsion, and territorial expansion. Ministers like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have further militarized Israeli settlers and pushed for increased settlements in Gaza and the West Bank.
The dream of “Greater Israel” now extends beyond Palestine to include parts of Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and even stretches of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This vision threatens the entire region, sparking fears of a new chapter in the Zionist agenda that targets Arab and Muslim countries.
