What is Greater Israel, and how popular is it among Israelis?

"Carlson, an influential figure who has been vocally critical of Israel over the past year, repeatedly asked Huckabee whether he supported Israel controlling all the land between the Nile River in Egypt and the Euphrates River in Iraq. Huckabee, a Christian Zionist, would not disavow the belief that the Bible promised that land to Israel even though it now encompasses all or part of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria."

"Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said that he would support anything that will allow the Jews a large, broad, strong land and a safe haven for us. Zionism is based on the Bible. Our mandate over the land of Israel is biblical, [and] the biblical borders of the land of Israel are clear—Therefore, the borders are the borders of the Bible."

"The most expansionist claim for a Greater Israel is based on a biblical verse (Genesis 15:18-21), which narrates God making a covenant with Abraham that promises his descendants the land between the Nile and the Euphrates. That would include the Jewish people, with the tribes of Israel believed to be descended through Abraham's son, Isaac."

Recent statements by US Ambassador Mike Huckabee and Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid supporting the concept of Greater Israel have triggered regional concern. Huckabee, a Christian Zionist, stated Israel could take all land between the Nile River and Euphrates River, encompassing parts of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Lapid similarly asserted that biblical borders justify Israeli territorial claims. The Greater Israel concept derives from Genesis 15:18-21, where God allegedly promised Abraham's descendants land between the Nile and Euphrates. These public endorsements of historically private territorial ambitions have provoked anger from regional countries and US allies, raising sovereignty and expansion concerns across the Middle East.

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