President Donald Trump once likened the Middle East to a pen, with Israel at its tip: “See this pen? This wonderful pen on my desk is the Middle East, and the top of the pen — that’s Israel.” This statement encapsulates the Israeli government's long-standing desire for territorial expansion, viewing its own state as too small in the vast region.

This drive for growth is central to the ‘Deal of the Century’, a proposal Trump unveiled during his first term. The plan aimed to drastically reshape the Middle East by displacing Palestinians to territories like Sinai and Jordan, while consolidating Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

However, the foundations of Israel's expansionism were laid much earlier.

The rules of the game have changed

The creation of Israel in 1948 was founded upon the rubble of Palestinian homes and the dead bodies of innocent people. Despite the violent birth, the early leadership claimed to seek a democratic state, forming treaties with the neighbouring countries, attempting to mask the true purpose behind its establishment – Zionism’s expansionist ideology. 

But over time, global dynamics evolved, with Israel capitalising on its growing power, now focusing on expanding its territorial control at the expense of Palestinian lives and the stability of Arab nations.

In 1967, under the pretext of a war with neighbouring Arab states, Israel expanded its hegemony into Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and the occupied West Bank, cementing its dominance in the region and marking the beginning of Israel’s deliberate efforts to reshape the region’s political landscape.

At that time, Israel was an isolated state surrounded by hostile neighbours, trying to protect their lands. However, its leaders found justification in fabricated religious and historical claims to expand its borders, manipulating these narratives to advance their goals. 

The motives behind the expansion were clear:

• To justify Israel’s existence as a ‘Jewish state’ and further entrench its occupation of Palestinian lands.

• To establish new rules of deterrence and intimidation to the surrounding Arab countries, to make sure that the state will not be attacked.

  • To convince the Jewish people from around the world that Israel is a stable and secure refuge, even as it imposed brutal repression on Palestinians.

  These objectives have been laid bare for all to see. Yet, the conflict remains unresolved, with Israel’s colonial ambitions continuing to fuel violence and instability.

Bloody peace

The Israeli supremacists' push for territorial expansion comes at the expense of Palestinian lives.

The so-called peace process orchestrated by the US has functioned less as a genuine attempt at resolution and more as a political cover for Israel’s ongoing theft of Palestinian land. Marketed to the world as a path toward reconciliation, these negotiations have instead legitimised and accelerated the colonisation of Palestine, particularly through the unchecked expansion of illegal Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank.

Nowhere is this more visible than in occupied East Jerusalem. Historically, the area has had an Arab majority and was administered by Jordan from 1948 until 1967.

That year, Israel invaded East Jerusalem during the Arab-Israeli War and has occupied it ever since, a move never recognised under international law. Despite its illegal status, Israel has continued to aggressively pursue policies to Judaise the city, seeking to erase its Palestinian identity.

This includes systematic land confiscation, home demolitions, revocation of residency rights, and increasingly hostile control over sacred religious sites such as Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. These actions aim to transform East Jerusalem into an exclusively Jewish space, further entrenching occupation and apartheid.

Far from delivering peace, these policies triggered cycles of violence and resistance, including the Second Intifada, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Palestinians.

The Oslo Accords, once held up as a framework for a two-state solution, have instead exposed Israel’s true agenda: permanent colonisation, population displacement, and the continued denial of Palestinian sovereignty.

Reality or wishful thinking?

The most dangerous aspect of Israel’s agenda is its systematic erasure of Palestinian rights, along with the denial of their dream for a sovereign state governed in accordance with international law.

Israel has floated plans for annexation and territorial expansion, testing global reactions to gauge whether the world will accept its blatant land grabs.  

But during the last 20 months of war and tension in the region, including the genocide in Gaza, the reality has changed, and the power of Israel to impose its plans has weakened by the Palestinian resistance that exposed Israel’s war crimes, and its fake narrative of the conflict.

Many military and political experts have warned that the Israeli plan to expand its entity at the expense of Arab territories, including the Palestinian promised land to be a state with sovereignty, will lead to unpredictable consequences not only for the region, but also for the world.

The future of the region now hinges on two starkly different paths:

A return to international law: This path entails the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, in accordance with international law. This is the only solution that could lead to lasting peace, stability, and prosperity for the region. Even Hamas, in its 2017 charter amendment, has expressed support for a Palestinian state based on these boundaries.

Continued expansion and aggression: The alternative, championed by Israeli leaders like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supremacist ministers, will only lead to more violence and destruction.

The rhetoric from figures like Trump, advocating for the forced displacement of Palestinians and the expansion of Israeli control, could spell disaster not just for the region but for global security. Such actions will deepen Israel’s isolation and escalate the conflict in ways that will be difficult to reverse.

Israel’s relentless expansionism, fuelled by leaders who are determined to maintain their grip on occupied Palestinian territories, is pushing the region to the brink. The ongoing occupation of Syrian and Lebanese territories, coupled with Israel’s most recent assault on Syria, only serves to highlight the dangers of Israel's plans.

Although the attack drew international condemnation, it also underlined the destructive consequences of Israel’s expansionist ambitions. While Israel may see this as an opportunity to assert its dominance, it risks pushing the region into even greater conflict.

Israel’s vulnerabilities have been exposed: 

• The Israeli society lost the trust of the Israeli army after it failed to confront resistance groups like Hamas. 

• Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system, once considered impregnable, has faltered in its defence against regional threats during retaliatory attacks from Iran, with Israeli society losing faith in the protection mechanism. 

• The carefully constructed fake narrative that Israel had been able to maintain security and stability has been exposed by its genocide in Gaza and the occupied territories.
  
  With the continued occupation of territories in parts of Lebanon and Syria, Israel stands at a critical crossroads.

  The resistance in these countries is growing, and the region is poised for transformation. The next few months will determine whether Israel’s expansion will lead to greater conflict or whether the international community will finally take a stand.