From the Nile to the Euphrates: Inside Israel's expansionist ambitions

A fringe biblical concept of 'Greater Israel,' from the Nile to the Euphrates, is gaining new traction among settlers and ministers, challenging the state's undefined borders. | Contesto: cronaca

Punti chiave

• From the Nile to the Euphrates: Inside Israel's expansionist ambitions

Contesto

The State of Israel, which has never formally defined its sovereign borders, is witnessing a renewed and increasingly public flirtation with a maximalist, biblical vision of its territory—stretching from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates in Iraq. This concept, known to proponents as 'Greater Israel' or 'Eretz Yisrael Hashlema,' is moving from the fringes of religious Zionist discourse into the rhetoric of sitting ministers and the ambitions of the settler movement, presenting a direct challenge to the geopolitical realities of the modern Middle East and the prospects for a two-state solution. The idea finds its roots in a specific interpretation of God's promise of land to the descendants of Abraham, as described in the Book of Genesis. For centuries, this was a matter of theological and historical discussion with little political potency. However, following Israel's decisive victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, which saw it capture the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, and Golan Heights, the concept gained a tangible, modern foothold. Secular nationalist movements initially saw these territories as strategic assets, but for religious Zionists, the capture of Judea and Samaria—the biblical heartland—was a divinely ordained return. Today, the discourse has evolved. While official government policy does not endorse annexing territory beyond the areas occupied in 1967, key figures within the ruling coalition have openly referenced the biblical map. Ministers from religious and far-right parties have, in speeches and social media posts, invoked the Nile-to-Euphrates idea, often framed as a historical right rather than an immediate plan for conquest. This rhetorical shift serves to normalize an aspiration once considered extremist, embedding it within mainstream Israeli political dialogue and aligning it with the ongoing project of settlement expansion in the West Bank. The practical manifestation of this ideology is most visible in the settler movement, whose steady growth eastward is often justified by this historical and religious claim. Settlement outposts, some illegal under Israeli law, are frequently established in remote areas with the stated goal...

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Categoria: cronaca