Arab states decry Netanyahu’s ‘Greater Israel’ comments as ‘threat to sovereignty’

ISTANBUL

Several Arab countries on Wednesday denounced remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he is attached to the vision of a “Greater Israel,” calling them a “threat to the sovereignty of states.”

Netanyahu told news channel i24 on Tuesday that he feels “very attached” to the vision of a Greater Israel. He said he considers himself “on a historic and spiritual mission” which “generations of Jews that dreamt of coming here and generations of Jews who will come after us.”

Greater Israel is a term used in Israeli politics to refer to the expansion of Israel’s territory to include the West Bank, Gaza and Syria’s Golan Heights, with some interpretations also including Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and parts of Jordan.

In a statement, Egypt asked for clarifications about the comments, as “they fuel instability and show rejection of peace in the region.”

The comments “contradict the aspirations of regional and international parties that value peace and seek to achieve security and peace for all the peoples of the region,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

“The only path to peace is through a return to negotiations and ending the war on Gaza, leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry called Netanyahu’s comments “a dangerous and provocative escalation, a threat to the sovereignty of states, a violation of international law and the UN Charter."

“These delusional claims, which are reflected in the statements of Israeli officials, will not affect Jordan and the Arab states and will not diminish the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” it added in a statement.

“These claims and delusions adopted and promoted by the extremists of the Israeli government encourage the continuation of cycles of violence and conflict” in Gaza and the West Bank, the ministry said.

Jordan called on the international community to take immediate action to stop Israel’s “provocative measures and statements that threaten the stability of the region and international peace and security.”

The Palestinian Authority called Netanyahu’s comments "a disregard of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people" and “a dangerous provocation and escalation that threatens the security and stability of the region."

It reaffirmed its commitment to the international principles regarding the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Yemen’s Foreign Ministry in a statement described the remarks as “a blatant violation of international legitimacy resolutions and international law, and a clear challenge to the will of the international community.”

The ministry warned that “the continuation of these Israeli policies would push the region toward further tension and instability.”

Serious threat

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry decried the remarks as “an extension of the (Israeli) occupation’s approach based on arrogance, fueling crises and conflicts and blatantly infringing on the sovereignty of states, international law.”

The ministry affirmed Qatar’s full support for “all efforts aimed at achieving a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace in the region.”

The Saudi Foreign Ministry rejected the “expansionist ideas and projects” pursued by Israeli officials and reaffirmed “the historical and legal right of the brotherly Palestinian people to establish their independent, sovereign state on their lands.”

In a statement, the Arab League denounced Israel’s “aggressive and expansionist tendencies,” calling it “a serious threat to collective Arab national security.”

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) stressed in a statement that the statements “are an attempt to evade Israel’s international obligations as the occupying power and to continue violating the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them their right to self-determination and to establish an independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

It warned “of the dangers of this colonial, expansionist rhetoric, which poses a threat to regional and international peace and security, fuels the cycle of violence, and prolongs and expands the conflict in the region.”

The Palestinian group Hamas said Netanyahu’s comments “clearly underscore the danger this fascist entity poses to all the countries and peoples of the region and its expansionist plans that spare no state.”

The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing over 61,700 Palestinians, almost half of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.