Arab nations are in turmoil after Israel released a controversial map of ‘Greater Israel’.

Kathmandu, After Israel released the controversial map of ‘Greater Israel’, the Arab (Gulf) nation has been uproar.
A few days ago, the Israeli government released a map of ‘Greater Israel’ on the social media platform X. The move has been condemned by Saudi Arabia, Palestine, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Arab League.
The map, released on Israel’s official social media account X on January 6, 2025, shows parts of Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan as part of Israel.
Saudi Arabia has called it an ‘extremist move’. Saudi Arabia has said that Israel’s move shows its ambition to continue open attacks on the sovereignty of other countries and violate international law. Palestine and Jordan have condemned the controversial map.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry and Palestinian officials have also appealed to the international community to prevent Israel from taking such steps.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abu al-Ghet has warned that if the international community fails to address such ‘provocative acts’, there will be a ‘growth in extremism’.

Israel’s claim
The ‘Greater Israel’ map released by Israel claims that the State of Israel was established about 3,000 years ago. The first three kings of Israel were Saul, David and Solomon. These three ruled for a total of 120 years. Israel claims that Jewish culture, religion and economy flourished during their reigns.
The Israeli government’s post claims that after the death of King Solomon in 931 BC, the empire was divided into two parts due to internal conflicts. The State of Israel was established in the north and the State of Judah in the south.
209 years later (722 BC), the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians. 345 years later, the Southern Kingdom of Judah fell to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon (568 BC).
Israel claims, “This division led to centuries of political struggle, but the Jewish people in exile demanded the restoration of their state. After this demand was met, Israel was established as a country in 1948. Israel is today the only democratic country in the Middle East.”

The Dream of Greater Israel

The concept of Greater Israel is not a new idea. But to understand where the concept came from and what areas are included in ‘The Promised Land’, we have to go back hundreds of years. In fact, many Jews in Israel refer to this area as ‘Eretz Israel’ or ‘the Land of Israel’. It is a much larger geographical area than Israel’s current borders.

The concept of ‘Greater Israel’ extends from the Nile River to the Euphrates River. According to this idea, Israel’s borders will one day extend from Lebanon to the vast desert of Saudi Arabia, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River (Iraq).

In January 2024, an interview with Israeli author Avi Lipkin went viral. In it, he discussed the concept of Greater Israel.
In that interview, he said, “On the other side of the Euphrates (river), there are Kurds. They are our friends. Behind us is the Mediterranean Sea and in front of us is Kurdistan. I am sure, we will also occupy Mecca, Medina and Sinai and we will make these places ‘holy’.”
After the Gaza war, Israel launched a military operation in Lebanon. Since then, the concept of ‘Greater Israel’ has once again been on social media.
One reason for this was the claim made in some social media posts during the ground operation in Gaza. Those posts mentioned that some Israeli soldiers were wearing badges with the map of ‘Greater Israel’ on their uniforms.
Far-right Israeli ministers have also expressed their views on this concept in the past. The map of ‘The Promised Land’ includes parts of Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt. Arab users on social media have expressed concern about this.
Israeli actions in neighboring countries have increased since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. In the past few months, the Israeli military has also attacked Iran, Syria, and Lebanon.
According to Theodor Herzl, the founder of Jewish nationalism (Zionism), the map of ‘The Promised Land’ or Greater Israel included the area from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River in Iraq. According to him, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia would also be part of Greater Israel.
The United Nations had approved the partition of Palestine into two separate Jewish and Arab states in 1947, declaring Jerusalem an ‘international city’.
Following this, Israeli politician and former Prime Minister Menachem Begin said, “The partition of Palestine is illegal. Jerusalem was and always will be our capital. The borders of Greater Israel will be permanently restored.”

From the River to the Sea
“Greater Israel has different meanings for different people,” writes Adrian Stein, author of the book ‘Zionism 2.0: Themes and Proposals of Reshaping World Civilization in the Times of Israel.’

Stein writes in his book that for Jews, the term Greater Israel refers to the establishment of Israeli sovereignty up to the West Bank (the Jordan River). It includes The biblical Judea, Samaria, and possibly the territories captured after the 1948 war. This includes Sinai, northern Israel, and the Golan Heights.
Washington-based political analyst Taki Nasirat has been closely following the situation in the Middle East. Nasirat believes that the concept of Greater Israel is deeply rooted in Israeli society. From the Israeli government to the military, various sections of Israeli society have supported it.
“Israelis believe that Israel has historical rights not only to the land that stretches ‘from the river to the sea,’ but also to the land that stretches ‘from river to river.’ That is, they have rights to the land that extends from the Euphrates River to the Nile River and everything in between,” Nasirat said.

Nasirat further clarified, “There is also a more realistic view in today’s Israel. According to this, Israel has rights to the areas that it currently occupies. This includes the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights.”
Omar Karim, a Middle East expert at the University of Birmingham in the UK, considers Greater Israel to be “just a myth.”
According to Judaism, the concept of Greater Israel includes all the ancient territories of the Middle East that were part of the Ottoman Empire and where Jews lived.
Karim believes that Greater Israel is a fantasy and not a practical one.
“But it is more discussed in the politics of Judaism. It is just a ‘fantasy’ that Greater Israel also includes today’s Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt,” he said.
Karim believes that Greater Israel is not a practical idea. He explains that it refers only to the currently occupied territories. It includes the West Bank, the Golan Heights and Gaza.

Why has the debate started again?
So Nasirat recalls the “Greater Israel” map presented by right-wing Israeli Minister Bezalel Smutrich in 2023. This map also included Jordan. The map caused a diplomatic row.
During a speech in Paris, an Israeli minister presented a map of Greater Israel. It showed Jordan and the occupied West Bank as part of Israel. Jordan strongly opposed it, accusing Bezalel of violating the peace treaty between the two countries.
“The fact is that whether it’s Smutrich or Ben Gur, whoever they represent sees this concept as the legitimate future of Israel,” says Taki Nasirat.
Nasirat believes that under Netanyahu’s current government, the concept of Greater Israel is being promoted by providing arms, support and protection to illegal settlers.
According to Nasirat, illegal Israelis are forcibly burning Palestinian olive trees and displacing them. The Jewish settlers are threatening them, forcing them to flee and establishing new settlements in the West Bank, Nasirat alleges.
He believes that the illegal Israeli settlers have become more powerful since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7. They are working on this agenda under the protection of the Israeli army (IDF) and the government, Nasser said.
“The dreams of extremists in any country are the same as those of the Israeli far-right,” says Omar Karim. “After the establishment of the State of Israel, the concept of a ‘religious state’ reemerged among Jews. Because Jews were either a minority or citizens of the countries in which they lived.”
He says that he first saw the concept of a religious state in Israel, as in Pakistan, where religion is the basis of nationality.
“The establishment of a Greater Israel, politically and practically, is just a fantasy. Serious Israeli politicians and analysts never talk about it. But this fantasy is certainly among the class that imagines a Jewish renaissance around the world.”

Western reaction
Taki Nasirat says the US has not responded to the changes in the reality on the ground and the expansion of Israeli settlements.

“Earlier this year, when Israel allowed some violent extremists to establish settlements, the Biden administration clearly condemned them,” she says.
Apart from that, there has been no serious reaction from Western countries that support Israel.
“By not rejecting the Greater Israel plan, Western countries are in a way helping Israel fulfill its dream,” Nasirat says.
But Omar Karim says the establishment of a Greater Israel is unacceptable to the West or to Jews living in the West.

“When this state was established for the Jews in 1947, it was thought that they were facing exploitation around the world and that they needed a separate country,” he says.
The UN Charter still lists the West Bank and Gaza as occupied territories. The US and Britain recognize this charter.
“The concept of a Greater Israel has no legal basis, nor does Israel have the military capacity to implement such a plan in the future,” says Omar Karim, “but even if Israel were to attempt it, it would not be possible without Western permission and military support.”
That is why Karim considers the concept of a ‘Greater Israel’ to be a mere fantasy. But for Jewish extremist groups, he believes it could serve as a ‘political lifeline.’ Agency