Dr. Saeed Shaheen: Israeli settlement ambitions in Arab countries have become public in light of the state of submission and surrender to American hegemony

Muhammad Joda: Smotrich's statements are not just individual dreams, but rather reflect strategic policies that the extreme right is gradually implementing.

Dr. Suhail Diab: Israel does not want to accept a multi-polar and multi-axis region after the Syrian earthquake, but rather presents itself as a regional power to shape the region

Oraib Al-Rantawi: The weakness of the official Arab position, including the continuation of normalization, strengthens Israel’s appetite for settlement and increases its hegemony over the occupied territories

Dr. Abdul Majeed Suwailem: The “Israeli Maps” Phase Reflects the Zionist Project’s Move to Resolve the Conflict and Expand with a Project That Cuts Off Arab Lands

The Arab region is witnessing a new phase of escalating Israeli ambitions, as what has become known as the “Smotrich Maps” has emerged, which were translated by what was published by official accounts on social media, affiliated with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the latest embodiment of the Zionist expansionist dreams that extend from Palestine to parts of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

In separate interviews with “I,” writers and political analysts believe that these maps, which are accompanied by statements and calls from extremist figures in the Israeli government, are not just pipe dreams, but rather reflect systematic policies that seek to impose a new reality on the ground.

They believe that the absence of effective Arab responses, along with surrender to American hegemony, enhances Israel's ability to implement its plans.

They point out that these Israeli ambitions are based on biblical and Christian Zionist ideologies, which find strong support from Western powers, led by the United States, especially from US President-elect Donald Trump. With the escalation of Arab normalization with Israel, the occupation’s appetite to expand its influence is increasing, taking advantage of the weakness of Arab and international responses.

Although these maps have been condemned by some Arab countries, writers and analysts believe that the Palestinians and Arabs are required to conduct a comprehensive review of their political programs and tools of resistance, whether by unifying Palestinian ranks or exploiting the Arabs’ economic and diplomatic cards. The current stage requires more effective confrontations, not only to deter Israeli expansion, but also to preserve the threatened Palestinian and Arab rights.

An extension of the Zionist project that was founded on the basis of expansion and annexation

Dr. Saeed Shaheen, Professor of Political Media at Hebron University, confirms that Israeli settlement ambitions, which include Palestinian lands and parts of Arab countries such as Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, are not a recent development, but rather an extension of the Zionist project that was founded on the basis of expansion and annexation.

Shaheen explains that these settlement ambitions come in the context of biblical trends that converge with Christian Zionism, which began to crystallize in a practical way with the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump, especially in light of his promises to expand the territory of Israel, which gave the extreme Israeli right greater boldness to implement its settlement plans.

He points out that Israeli settlement ambitions are not new, as the Zionist project has been, since its inception, a goal of expansion beyond the borders of historical Palestine. However, these ambitions have been subject to failures as a result of intertwined Palestinian, Arab and international factors. However, the biblical idea, which reflects Israel’s expansionist ambitions, has remained and is waiting for the right opportunity to emerge.

Shaheen asserts that the Trump administration contributed to transforming these ideas into practical steps, as this represented unprecedented boldness on the part of the extreme Israeli right and religious Zionism to demand expansion and annexation of more Palestinian lands and parts of Arab lands.

According to Shaheen, these Israeli settlement ambitions in the Arab countries have become public in light of the state of Arab and international submission and surrender to American hegemony, which has become largely subject to the influence of Zionism.

Shaheen points out that Israel's current leadership, with extremist figures such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is adopting a fascist agenda that pushes for settlement expansion and the annexation of more Palestinian and Arab lands.

These plans, Shaheen says, threaten to kill the Palestinian dream of establishing an independent state on the 1967 lands.

Shaheen stresses the need to take Palestinian, Arab and international steps to confront these plans, calling in this context for unifying the Palestinian ranks and putting the internal house in order to confront the challenges, while continuing to use all Palestinian political, diplomatic and legitimate resistance cards to ensure the Palestinians remain on their land, as Shaheen urges the use of diplomatic tools to keep the Palestinian cause alive on the international scene.

Shaheen points out that the Arab movement must be more influential, by exploiting the economic influence of the Arab countries, especially in the field of energy, and using trade relations with the West as a means of pressure, calling for the international community to move to isolate Israel politically, by seeking to deny its membership in the United Nations due to its continued violation of international laws.

Shaheen points to the importance of boycotting Israel and halting normalization with it as a means of pressuring it. He also stressed that threatening to use military force should be an option on the table if Israel proceeds to implement these expansionist plans on the ground.

Shaheen stresses that any slackness in confronting these ambitions will lead to dire consequences for the future of the Palestinians and the entire region.

A major challenge that goes beyond the Palestinian borders to threaten the stability of the region

Writer and political analyst Muhammad Joda believes that talk about the map of “Greater Israel,” which includes the lands of Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, reflects a major challenge that goes beyond the Palestinian borders to threaten the stability of the entire region.

Joudeh explains that this expansionist project, adopted by the extreme Israeli right, constitutes a long-term strategy aimed at changing the political geography of the region and imposing a new reality that cannot be reversed.

He points out that the Israeli plans directly aim to liquidate the Palestinian cause through escalating settlement and annexing the West Bank, as these policies aim to end any hope for a two-state solution, by displacing Palestinians and imposing new facts that make resisting annexation extremely difficult.

Joda believes that the occupation is seeking to re-settle in the Gaza Strip, in an attempt to change the demographics of the region and undermine the Palestinian social structure.

Joda believes that the internal Palestinian division represents a major weakness that Israel exploits to implement its expansionist policies, stressing that achieving national reconciliation and ending the division is an urgent necessity to form a unified Palestinian front capable of confronting these challenges.

Joudeh stresses the importance of strengthening popular and civil resistance, in addition to escalating international diplomacy to expose Israeli practices in international forums.

On the other hand, Joudeh believes that Israeli ambitions extend to Jordan, pointing out that these plans represent a direct threat to Jordanian sovereignty.

Jodeh explains that "Israel seeks to abolish the Jordanian identity and consider Jordan an alternative homeland for the Palestinians, which threatens the stability of Jordan through political and economic pressure resulting from regional tensions."

Joudeh stresses the need for Jordanian-Palestinian coordination to confront these challenges, especially with regard to Jordanian guardianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, calling for the exploitation of international relations to strengthen Jordanian positions in the face of Israeli plans.

Regarding Lebanon and Syria, Joudeh believes that Israel is exploiting the internal crises in the two countries to expand its influence.

Joudeh points out that the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan represents a flagrant violation of Syrian sovereignty and weakens any chance for a regional settlement.

Joudeh stresses that Israeli ambitions in southern Lebanon threaten Lebanon's stability, especially in light of the political and economic crises that are sweeping the country.

"Israel is seeking to exploit these circumstances to expand its control and destabilize the region," Joda said.

He believes that normalizing relations between some Arab countries and Israel may be used to justify annexation and occupation policies, especially in light of the absence of real Arab pressure to stop these policies.

Joda points out that the continued American support for Israel provides cover for these ambitions to become a reality, stressing that this support makes Israel more daring in implementing its expansionist plans.

Joda believes that the Israeli war on Gaza is not separate from the major expansionist plans, and says: “Israel is using the war as a pretext to justify its annexation policies and settlement expansion in the West Bank, and is also trying to create a new reality by separating Gaza from the West Bank to fragment and weaken the Palestinian cause.”

He believes that Israel seeks to change the regional balance of power by threatening and destabilizing neighboring countries, stressing at the same time that Israeli plans represent a threat to the regional and international order, pointing out that the continuation of the occupation and the violation of international law weakens the credibility of the global order.

Joudeh believes that Israel is exploiting global crises, such as the war in Ukraine, to divert international attention from the Palestinian issue and advance its expansionist plans.

Joudeh points out that the statements of Israeli officials such as Smotrich are not just individual dreams, but rather reflect strategic policies that the Israeli far right is gradually implementing.

Joudeh believes that the policy of de facto annexation of the West Bank and increased settlement activity shows that Israel is seeking to impose a new reality that makes a return to the 1967 borders impossible.

Joudeh calls for escalating political and diplomatic efforts to confront Israeli plans, stressing the importance of activating Arab League decisions to support the Palestinian cause and unifying media efforts to highlight the dangers threatening the entire region.

Joudeh stresses the need to exert international pressure on Israel, including the threat of sanctions, to push it to stop its violations.

"Confronting these ambitions requires a firm regional and international move, because surrendering to this reality will lead to a new division of the region and the continuation of occupation and unrest for decades to come," Joda said.

Strategic moves aimed at achieving major goals in the region

Professor of Political Science and expert on Israeli affairs, Dr. Suhail Diab, believes that the escalation of Israeli statements about the so-called dreams of “Greater Israel,” which include expanding Israeli influence regionally and escalating security and military operations, reflects strategic moves aimed at achieving major goals in the region.

Diab points out that these statements, which coincide with an Israeli escalation in the West Bank, such as what happened in the town of Tamoun, when three Palestinians from one family, including two children, were killed, express an Israeli policy aimed at redefining its role in the region.

Diab stresses that Israel seeks to impose itself as a major regional player in the Middle East, which can be considered the first challenge facing Israel.

Diab explains that "Israel does not want to accept a multi-polar and multi-axis region after the earthquake in Syria, and seeks to present itself as a regional power that has the greatest influence in shaping the features of the region."

The second challenge, according to Diab, is linked to the first and is represented by attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause, which is considered the main obstacle to achieving the Israeli dream of regional hegemony.

Diab explains that this liquidation takes on a demographic character through the displacement of Palestinians and linking geographical control to demographic change, as is currently happening in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Despite the Israeli escalation, Diab believes that achieving these goals seems almost impossible under the current circumstances.

Diab points out that the regional axes, despite their different orientations, all require a solution to the Palestinian issue as an entry point for any Israeli role in the region.

Diab stresses that the contradiction between the two main Israeli challenges - regional hegemony and the liquidation of the Palestinian issue - makes achieving these goals more complicated, noting that Israel will either have to reach a solution to the Palestinian issue or face opposition from regional axes that see this Israeli role as a threat to their interests.

Diab points out that Israel's insistence on achieving its expansionist goals could lead to a number of serious repercussions at the regional and international levels.

Diab believes that the Israeli escalation could strengthen the belief in the resistance option among the Iranian axis and its allies in the region.

Diab explains that Israel deals with these forces as an obstacle to its expansionist project, which may lead to growing public awareness in the region that resistance is the most effective option to confront Israeli policies.

Diab points out that talk about liquidating the Palestinian cause and the continued Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan might create a state of mistrust in the credibility of the new Syrian leadership, especially in light of Israel’s attempts to exploit Syria’s internal crises to achieve geographic and political gains, and this matter might lead to a reversal of Syrian public opinion in favor of escalating the confrontation with Israel.

Diab believes that the Saudi-Egyptian axis, which is considered moderate, may find itself in a difficult position before the United States due to Israeli policies that seek to impose comprehensive security, military and economic hegemony.

Diab points out that this tension may extend to affect global trade, especially in the Red Sea and other waterways.

Diab points to recent Israeli reports that Türkiye is considered a major security challenge in the coming era, adding a new dimension to the complexity of regional relations.

Diab believes that Israel realizes that major transformations in the region, such as the repercussions of the earthquake in Syria, may reduce its ability to implement its plans.

Diab believes that "these Israeli expansionist dreams are now being spread in an attempt to reduce the potential damage resulting from major changes in the region."

Diab points out that Israeli talk about the threat of fundamentalist movements after the earthquake in Syria reflects deep concern about regional transformations.

Diab stresses that these dreams face major obstacles in light of current regional and international relations.

"Israel may be able to stir up tensions, but it will find it extremely difficult to achieve its expansionist goals without radical solutions to the Palestinian issue, which makes the realization of these dreams unlikely in the near future," Diab says.

Israel is experiencing a "season of expansive maps flying around"

Director of the Jerusalem Center for Political Studies, Oraib al-Rantawi, confirms that Israel is experiencing a “season of expansive maps flying around,” as it works daily to present new maps that aim to annex more Arab lands and impose its sovereignty over them, and publishing maps that include several Arab countries reflects its goals that it is working on in a planned manner and not randomly.

Al-Rantawi explains that these movements are not limited to Palestine alone, but extend to other Arab lands, reflecting blatant plans that Israel seeks to transform into facts on the ground.

He points out that Israel has gone beyond the stage of declarations in the West Bank, where bulldozers are paving the way for settlement outposts and bypass roads deep inside the West Bank, which is the basis and doctrine of the Israeli settlement project.

Al-Rantawi points out the statements of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who denies the existence of the occupation in the West Bank, considering the West Bank to be part of “Judea and Samaria.”

Al-Rantawi believes that these statements, accompanied by actual practices, reveal clear Israeli plans to annex the entire West Bank, in an attempt to change the geographical and demographic reality in favor of the Zionist project.

Al-Rantawi explains that Israeli ambitions are not new, but they are now taking on a more daring character. For example, Israel continues to extend its presence in southern Lebanon, while refusing to negotiate over the Shebaa Farms. In Syria, it occupies new lands equivalent in size to the Gaza Strip, in a clear indication of its desire to establish new facts on the ground, showing that it is continuing to achieve its expansionist dreams.

Al-Rantawi believes that the official Arab response to these expansionist settlement plans is still limited to angry statements or condemnation statements, devoid of any practical steps.

He stresses that the absence of joint Arab action, whether through putting the internal house in order or strengthening the movement between Arab countries, contributes to enabling Israel to move forward with its projects.

Al-Rantawi points out that the weakness of the official Arab position, including the continuation of normalization with Israel, strengthens its appetite for settlement and increases its hegemony over the occupied territories.

Al-Rantawi criticizes the Arab countries' continued adherence to the peace option as the only strategy for dealing with Israel, even though the latter has not shown any indication of its desire to reach a comprehensive peace.

Rantawi points out that Israel deals with peace from a purely material perspective, through “peace for the economy” or “peace for security,” which reflects the absence of Israeli commitment to any real peace project.

Al-Rantawi stresses that what stops Israel from expanding is resistance, explaining that the cost of occupation must be higher than the gains Israel achieves from its expansionist policies.

According to Rantawi, the Zionist appetite, which he described as "like an insatiable hell," exploits the state of Arab weakness to expand the area of control at the expense of Palestinian and Arab rights.

Rantawi stresses the need to reconsider the relationship with Israel, resist normalization, and build a comprehensive Arab strategy to confront Israeli plans.

He points out that the absence of serious collective action leaves the door open for Israel to impose new facts on the ground, leading to further domination of the region and the squandering of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and the surrounding Arab countries.

Zionism has moved from the stage of thought and ideology to the practical agenda.

The writer and political analyst, Dr. Abdul Majeed Suwailem, confirms that Palestinian political thought suffers from a clear failure to read the major transformations that the Zionist-Israeli project has reached.

Suwailem explains that the Zionist movement has moved from the stage of thought and ideology to the practical agenda, where the Israeli project has come to focus on resolving the conflict with the Palestinians and expanding the vital area of the occupying state, beyond the borders of historical Palestine from the river to the sea.

Suwailem points out that what he called the “Israeli maps phase” reflects the transition of the Zionist project from managing the conflict to resolving it, and from a state within the borders of the mandate to an expansionist project that aims to seize more Arab lands under security, political, and geopolitical pretexts.

Suwailem believes that this transformation requires the Palestinians and Arabs to seriously and comprehensively review their political programs and intellectual tools, pointing out that the Palestinian political institutions are still stuck at points outside the basic context of the confrontation.

He believes that the absence of intellectual and political review among the Palestinians constitutes a major weakness, explaining that the political parties and institutions lack the capabilities necessary to seriously confront these challenges.

Suwailem points out that some people deliberately evade facing this entitlement through a general discourse that does not provide practical solutions, stressing that these programs will remain unable to achieve any progress, especially in light of the complexities of the regional and international scene.

Suwailem says: “There is no Palestinian political will to confront the new Israeli project, whether because of the difference in programs or the inability to bear the cost of confrontation. The Palestinian situation will not be stable unless there is a real national project capable of dealing with the requirements of the stage.”

Suwailem describes the Israeli right's expansionist projects as "illusions," noting that Israel is unable to achieve these plans despite the great Western support.

Suwailem points out that Israel has been unable to control the Gaza Strip for more than 400 days, and that any attempt to regain control will cost it a heavy price that exceeds its capabilities. Israel's attempts to expand into Lebanon and Syria also face major obstacles, as it will only be able to advance a limited distance.

"These expansionist delusions are what will destroy the Israeli state," Suwailem says. "The deadly international isolation that Israel is experiencing will worsen as this project continues, making the dreams of the Zionist right a burden on the state itself."

Suwailem stresses that the Palestinian and Arab response to this stage must be serious and effective.

Suwailem believes that the current state of Palestinian and Arab impotence makes it easier for Israel to implement its plans, calling for reformulating Palestinian and Arab national programs in a way that is consistent with the requirements of the confrontation, whether through political tools or new means of struggle.

He stresses that the crisis of the Israeli right lies in its incorrect understanding of reality and its reliance on imaginary perceptions.

Suwailem believes that the future of the Zionist project depends on the ability of the Palestinians and Arabs to provide practical alternatives and comprehensive confrontation strategies, pointing out that Palestinian and Arab hesitation gives Israel space to implement its projects despite its worsening crises.