“Return to Mecca”: The Israeli Plan to Occupy Saudi Arabia

“I am here for a historic and spiritual mission that future generations will remember. I fully believe in Greater Israel.”

These were the startling words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a televised interview with former Knesset member and far-right politician Sharon Gal, as he outlined his vision of a so-called “Greater Israel” — a project that includes territories from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.

The statement triggered a storm of Arab outrage. Saudi Arabia and Jordan issued official condemnations, while Egypt released a softer response, avoiding Netanyahu’s name but calling on Israeli media to provide clarification. The remarks, however, struck deep at the sovereignty of major Arab states.

The “Greater Israel” Doctrine

The idea of Greater Israel is not new. It has been a central dogma of Zionist ideology since the days of its founder, Theodor Herzl, who declared at the First Zionist Congress that Israel’s borders should extend “from the Nile to the Euphrates.” David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, turned this into military doctrine. In a May 1948 address to the general staff, he said:

“We must prepare to attack… Our aim is to crush Lebanon, Transjordan, and Syria, then seize Port Said, Alexandria, and Sinai. It is not about maintaining the status quo. We must build a dynamic state aimed at expansion.”

What was once theory is now being advanced openly by Netanyahu and his extremist partners, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who continue to repeat the call for territorial expansion.

As Egyptian journalist Yosri Fouda once said: “Do not call them Arab rulers — call them Arab servants.” Today, these regimes stand powerless while Zionist ambitions grow louder.

“Return to Mecca”: A Blueprint for Occupying Saudi Arabia

In 2012, an extremist Israeli writer with ties to Mossad, Dennis Avi Lipkin, published a book titled “Return to Mecca”. Its cover depicted not the real Kaaba, but a black cube resembling it, with two black straps extending outward — the Jewish tefillin (phylacteries), a ritual object that the author blasphemously likened to the Kaaba itself.

In the book, Lipkin outlined what amounts to a plan for Israel to occupy Saudi Arabia. He argued that Jews have a “historical right” to the Arabian Peninsula, claiming that during the biblical forty years of wandering, the Israelites settled there. He went further, alleging that God spoke to Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) not at Mount Sinai but at Mount Lawz in Tabuk, northern Saudi Arabia.

For Lipkin, the Kaaba is nothing more than a “Jewish symbol” of tefillin, not Islam’s holiest site. He openly called for its destruction — or for Israel to create an international coalition to seize control of the Hajj and Umrah, turning them into economic and political instruments under Israeli oversight.

Saudi Arabia as a Target

According to Lipkin’s thesis, Saudi Arabia will eventually face internal unrest — whether from extremist groups or through attacks by the Houthis. At that point, Riyadh would “require protection or guardianship” from Israel, creating the “perfect moment” for Jews to reclaim their so-called “Promised Land” and occupy Mecca and Medina.

This vision aligns with the broader Christian-Zionist alliance that Lipkin advocates, combining Jewish and evangelical forces to expand Israel’s reach not only into Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, but into the heart of the Arabian Peninsula itself.

A Semi-Official Plan

What makes Lipkin’s proposal even more alarming is his reliance on “documented information” from Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office. This suggests that Return to Mecca is not just a wild theory, but potentially part of a semi-official Zionist strategy for regional domination — one that openly calls for the eventual occupation of Saudi Arabia.

As Ben-Gurion chillingly declared in 1937:

“We must expel the Arabs and take their places. We must prepare for their forced displacement from their lands.”

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Analysis

The “Return to Mecca” narrative is a stark reminder that Israel’s expansionist project does not stop at Palestine. Its vision of Greater Israel stretches deep into Arab and Muslim lands, including Islam’s holiest sanctuaries.

The plan is not merely a theological provocation but a geopolitical strategy:

• Militarily, by destabilising neighbouring states.
• Economically, by exploiting religious pilgrimage under Zionist control.
• Ideologically, by desecrating Islamic identity and rewriting sacred history.

For the Ummah, the message is clear: silence and complacency only embolden Zionist ambitions. The Kaaba — the qiblah of 1.8 billion Muslims — is not only a symbol of worship, but the very axis of Islamic unity. Any attempt to touch it is an attempt to erase Islam itself.