Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exploited the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, to target Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and ultimately Iran — which it considers a greater enemy, under the pretext of national security but also in pursuit of its “Greater Israel” agenda.
Despite ongoing negotiations between Iran and the U.S., and warnings from Saudi Arabia of a possible Israeli strike if no deal was reached, Israel went ahead and launched a barrage of missiles at Iran on the 61st day of the talks.
Even as Tulsi Gabbard testified before Congress earlier this year that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence confirmed to lawmakers that Tehran’s Supreme Leader had not reauthorized the dormant nuclear program, even though Iran had enriched uranium to higher levels.
The State of Israel was established in 1948, following the conclusion of the British Mandate over Palestine that had lasted for three decades. Greater Israel doctrine relies on systematically weakening regional rivals.
Since 2015, Israeli leadership has increasingly distanced itself from the idea of a two-state solution. By 2023, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had firmly ruled out any future recognition of Palestinian statehood. Despite Israel’s efforts to block such recognition, by June 2024, 146 of the 193 United Nations member states had formally acknowledged Palestine as an independent state. Israel’s opposition to a two-state framework—combined with its unrelenting military campaign in Gaza since October 7, 2023, and the mounting civilian toll—has drawn sharp criticism, even from some of its closest allies.
Israel has long leveraged its alliance with the United States to assert dominance in the Middle East by influencing Washington’s foreign policy and elections in the U.S. through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). AIPAC has much influence in U.S. politics. The Israel lobby in the United States comprises billionaires (individuals and groups) who influence the U.S. federal government to serve Israel’s interests.
World leaders who have remained in power for more than fifteen years often pursue long-term strategies aimed at expanding territory, weakening rival nations militarily, and fomenting unrest — all to ensure their continued hold on power.
Israel has been asserting that it is attacking Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen for its “right to self-defense” under the guise of a long-term plan to annex into ‘Eretz Yisrael’ vast areas of neighboring and regional sovereign states. The implementation of “greater Israel” is being seen.
The question remains: is it morally acceptable to conquer other sovereign countries in pursuit of ancient territorial claims?
The concept of Greater Israel has strategic as well as security considerations. Interpretations of “Greater Israel” include the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), the Golan Heights, and even areas beyond current borders, potentially including parts of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and even Egypt.
Netanyahu has consistently supported maintaining Israeli control over the West Bank, with the annexation of some settlements. The State of Israel has existed since 1948, following the end of the 30-year mandate for British administration of Palestine.
In 2003, the U.S. launched a war in Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein’s government on the pretext of having links with al-Qaeda and possessing weapons of mass destruction — claims that ultimately proved to be unfounded.
The United States and Israel were against the Bashar al-Assad regime of Syria and backed Ahmed al-Sharaa, who took control of Syria in 11 days, compelling Assad to flee to Russia. U.S. intelligence agencies suspected Assad of storing chemical weapons and were concerned that he might deploy such weapons as a last resort to defend Damascus.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has defended the Israeli strikes on Syria, saying Israel’s intention had been solely to target suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rocket sites — to prevent their seizure by armed groups opposed to Israel’s ongoing offensives on its neighbours.
Israel also carried out attacks in Al Mayadin in the east, Tartous and Masyaf in the northwest, at the Qusayr crossing with Lebanon, and the Khalkhalah military airport in the south.
“Israel has a very definite plan that no nation in the region should have weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. One by one it has destroyed all the nations which tried to acquire nuclear capability — starting with Egypt. It has killed several nuclear scientists,” Zakir Hussein, a noted geostrategist, said
The Obama administration in 2016 demanded a freeze in settlement expansion, but Netanyahu rebuffed it and went on to build new settlements. Recently, 22 more Jewish settlements were approved in May 2025 in the occupied West Bank — the biggest expansion in decades.
Now, US President Donald Trump is threatening to bring the U.S. military into another Middle East conflict, and Netanyahu is hoping to fulfill the concept of “Greater Israel,” which envisions a Jewish state encompassing a larger territory than currently exists.
Earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu came under fire on social media for holding two maps at the United Nations General Assembly plenum in September 2023. The first was intended to represent the geography of 1948, showing how Israel (including the West Bank and Gaza) was alone in the Middle East and had no allies. The second map, which portrayed the year 2023, had seven countries in green — including Israel and Saudi Arabia. It was meant to illustrate how Israel now had friends in the region and how a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia would expand that.
“It attacked Syria. It attacked Saddam Hussein, who was trying to develop nuclear weapons. Syria was also trying to develop nuclear weapons. And now comes Iran. Because Israel thinks if there is any powerful nation, it will not be able to expand and execute its Greater Israel program,” Hussein added.
Middle East expert Hussein reiterated, “Israel’s greater program extends from Sinai up to Syria and some parts of Saudi Arabia. It is taking the map which existed 2,500 years ago. It is back here to take the land which was promised by God, which they left 2,500 years ago and migrated all over the world. Again, they are back, and the last nail in its plan is Iran.”
According to a report in Middle East Monitor 2024, a photograph of an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldier wearing a “Greater Israel” badge sparked outrage across the Arab world. The badge depicted a vision of Israel stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates — from Medina to Lebanon — incorporating parts of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
While the idea of “Greater Israel” has long existed in Israeli discourse — from Theodor Herzl to the Oded Yinon Plan — the public display of such ambitions, especially amid active conflicts, was seen as inflammatory. The outrage was less about the ideology’s existence and more about its growing normalization in Israeli political and military symbolism.
Netanyahu’s military action, diplomatic moves are increasingly being interpreted as steps toward making that vision a reality.
