In a significant political development, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has articulated his support for expanding Israel’s territorial boundaries to their biblical proportions when security conditions permit. The centrist Yesh Atid party leader made these remarks during a Monday press conference when questioned about U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee’s recent comments regarding Israel’s religious entitlement to lands between the Euphrates and Nile rivers.
Lapid explicitly endorsed the concept of a Greater Israel, stating: ‘I support anything that will allow the Jews a large, broad, strong land and a safe haven for us, our children and our children’s children.’ When pressed for specifics on territorial extent, the opposition leader responded: ‘As broad as possible,’ while acknowledging practical constraints including security considerations, policy limitations, and temporal factors. He notably suggested potential expansion reaching as far as Iraq.
The politician grounded his position in religious doctrine, asserting: ‘Zionism is based on the Bible, our mandate over the land of Israel is biblical, the biblical borders of Israel are very clear. I believe our ownership deed over the land of Israel is the Bible, therefore the borders are the Bible’s borders.’
This stance appears somewhat contradictory to Lapid’s previous endorsements of a two-state solution for Palestinians. The opposition leader had previously criticized European nations’ recognition of Palestinian statehood as ‘a reward for terror.’
The controversy originates from Ambassador Huckabee’s recent interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, where the Baptist minister and self-declared Zionist suggested Israel would be justified in claiming the entire Middle East. When challenged about including Lebanon and Syria, Huckabee characterized his statement as hyperbolic while maintaining that defensive conquest would warrant different consideration.