Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s open endorsement of a maximalist “Greater Israel” vision has unsettled the Arab world, with analysts warning it could mark a turning point in the region’s balance of power.
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Long seen by Washington and the West as a counterweight to Iran, observers say Israel now risks eclipsing its arch-rival as the Middle East’s most destabilising force.
The idea of a Greater Israel has circulated for decades on the Israeli far-right. Its imagined boundaries are debated, but all versions involve annexing the Palestinian territories and seizing some land from neighbouring states: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. More extreme interpretations extend the map even further, encompassing parts of Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
In an interview broadcast last Tuesday, Netanyahu declared he was on a “historic and spiritual mission” and felt “very much” connected to this expansionist vision of Israel.
He also accepted a symbolic amulet from interviewer Sharon Gal, a former right‑wing member of the Israeli Knesset, reportedly engraved with one of the more expansive maps of Greater Israel.
The remarks triggered a chorus of condemnation from across the Arab world. Saudi Arabia, the most influential US partner in the region and guardian of Islam’s holiest sites, led the response.