September 17, 2025 | 09:53 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Turkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has accused Israel of seeking to create "Greater Israel." Israel aims to expand its territory, not only into Palestine, but also into neighboring countries including Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and Turkiye.
"There are two reasons behind Israel's expansionism. First, to expand its territory and establish Greater Israel," Fidan stated in an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday, September 14, 2025, as reported by Arab News.
"The second is to keep the countries in the region weak, ineffective, and especially to divide Israel's neighboring countries," he added.
Fidan made these statements in Qatar while attending a joint emergency summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League. The meeting was held in response to Israel's recent attack on Hamas in Doha.
"The issue is no longer just the Palestine-Israel conflict in our region. This is not just about Israel's occupation of Palestine or the continuation of the genocide in Gaza. It is also about Israel's efforts to carry out regional expansionism," he emphasized.
Ankara views Qatar as a strategic partner and ally. The attack in Doha has raised Turkey's concerns and strengthened its view that Israel is disregarding established international legal norms.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared last month to endorse the vision of Greater Israel.
In an interview with i24 News, host Sharon Gal presented Netanyahu with an amulet depicting what Gal described as the "Map of the Covenant Land." When asked if he felt connected to the vision of Greater Israel, Netanyahu responded, "Very much so."
Although the amulet did not appear on the screen, the phrase "Greater Israel" is widely understood as an expansionist concept long used by Israeli ultra-nationalists to claim parts of Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria, in addition to the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu also described himself in the interview as someone engaged in a historic and spiritual mission.
This idea has also been openly voiced by other Israeli officials. Last year, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich advocated expanding Israel's border areas to include Damascus.
He suggested that Israel would expand its territory to encompass not only the entire Palestinian territory but also parts of Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. "It is written that the future of Jerusalem will expand to Damascus," Smotrich said.
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