In 1898, as Theodor Herzl penned his diary, he outlined a vision that would reshape Zionist thought, with the goal of establishing a Jewish state. This idea intersected with an expansive vision of “Greater Israel,” a territory stretching from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River. Rooted in ancient biblical promises, this ambitious ideal would shape the course of Middle Eastern history. But how did this concept evolve from religious text to geopolitical strategy, and what impact has it had on the region?
The concept of Greater Israel traces its origins to God’s promise to Prophet Abraham, the patriarch of both Jews and Arabs, who had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac’s descendants became the Jewish people, while Ishmael’s descendants became the Arab people. According to the Torah, God made a covenant with Abraham, promising his descendants a homeland stretching from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates. This biblical narrative formed the basis for both a spiritual ideal and a political aspiration that would shape Zionist thought for generations.
The Greater Israel vision evolved from religious doctrine into a nationalist movement for reclaiming historical Jewish territories. Menachem Begin, a prominent advocate of this vision, founded the Likud Party, now led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, continuing the tradition of promoting territorial expansion.
For over four centuries, the Ottoman Empire provided stability to the Middle East’s diverse communities. This unity endured until the late 19th century, when rising nationalism began to unravel its multi-ethnic structure. Sultan Abdul Hamid II initially maintained relative stability through a policy of Pan-Islamism, unifying Muslim populations under the Caliphate. However, the 1908 Young Turks’ coup, aimed at reforming the empire, fueled the flames of nationalism among non-Turkish populations even faster. During this period of Ottoman decline, European powers exploited sectarian divisions to advance their colonial ambitions. Russia positioned itself as the protector of Orthodox Christians, France claimed guardianship over Catholics, and Britain strategically supported Arab nationalism—each power manoeuvring to expand its influence in the region.
Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War One, the Allied powers gathered to negotiate the terms of peace and redefine the global order. During these negotiations, Zionist representatives presented their vision for a Jewish homeland in Palestine, with proposals for expanded borders. Their vision included regions beyond Palestine, encompassing the east bank of the Jordan River, southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, and parts of the Sinai Peninsula. At the same time, the Arab provinces of the former Ottoman Empire were divided into new, fragmented states by the Allies, with borders drawn along sectarian lines that aimed to ensure these countries would remain weak and divided.
in 1917, Britain, which had taken control of Palestine, issued the Balfour Declaration supporting the creation of a Jewish national home, laying the groundwork for increased Jewish immigration and land purchases that heightened tensions between Jewish and Arab populations. These developments culminated in David Ben-Gurion’s declaration of Israeli independence on May 14th, 1948, notably without defining specific borders to keep open the possibility of territorial expansion, which immediately triggered an invasion by neighboring Arab countries who rejected the UN partition plan. By the end of the ensuing 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Israel had expanded to control approximately 78% of the former British Mandate of Palestine, and this expansionist trajectory continued with the Six-Day War, which Israel intentionally provoked with Arab states, resulting in the capture of significant territories including the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights, thus solidifying Israel’s presence across Palestine and beyond in alignment with its broader aspirations for territorial expansion.
The Union Plan, a controversial strategy outlined by an aide to Israeli Minister of Defense Ariel Sharon in the 1980s, was published by the World Zionist Organization’s ideological journal, known as ‘The Strategy for Israel in the 1980s.’ It proposed that Israel’s long-term security and regional dominance could be achieved by exploiting sectarian divisions within neighboring Arab states to fragment them into smaller, weaker entities.
Israel’s first major military operation outside Palestine was the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Even before the invasion, Israel had been supporting Christian militias in Lebanon, using them as proxies against Palestinian fighters in the South. The goal was to establish a pro-Israeli government, ensuring Lebanon remained divided.
Israel’s strategic influence extended to lobbying the United States for military action in the Middle East. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the U.S. to invade Iraq, framing Saddam Hussein’s regime as a threat to both Israeli and Western interests. The subsequent U.S. invasion led to the fragmentation of Iraq, creating a power vacuum that has since made it impossible for a strong centralized government to emerge.
The civil war that started in Syria in 2011 provided an opportunity for Israel to manipulate the balance between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Israel supported certain rebel groups and conducted airstrikes against Syrian government and Iranian targets, aiming to ensure that Syria remained divided and weakened, incapable of posing any unified threat to Israeli interests.
Israel launched attacks on Gaza with the stated goal of eradicating Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups. This war on Gaza, one of the deadliest and most destructive in recent history, has resulted in nearly 42,000 deaths—more than half of them women and children. In the year since, approximately 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, many multiple times. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu consistently frames these military actions as necessary to eliminate Hamas, portraying the group as a threat not only to Israel but to Western values and global stability.
The concept of Greater Israel, rooted in biblical promises and shaped by Zionist ambitions, has influenced some Israeli policies and actions over the past century. Under the leadership of figures like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, some policies of Israel’s far-right parties demonstrate a desire for territorial expansion, reflecting elements of the Greater Israel vision. This pursuit continues to shape certain policies and fuel tensions in the region, contributing to a complex legacy of conflict and unresolved divisions in the Middle East.