'The concept is about much more than acquiring territory, it is also about Netanyahu’s desire for Israel to become a regional superpower.
In the past two-and-a-half years, Israel has https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/05/wasteland-rubble-dust-graves-how-gaza-looks-from-the-sky, killing tens of thousands of people and laying waste its civilian infrastructure, squeezing its population, https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/video/2025/08/06/palestinians-can-now-live-on-only-12-of-gazan-territory_6744114_4.html from last year, into just 12% of an already tiny strip of land. In the West Bank, Israel continues a campaign of https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/14/settlers-violence-ethnic-cleansing-west-bank-village towards Palestinian people and property that is unparalleled since the six-day war in 1967, expanding its matrix of control and settlement.
After the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in 2024, Israel seized territory in Syria (beyond the illegally annexed Golan Heights) and is in the process of reconstituting a https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/31/israel-vows-occupy-large-parts-southern-lebanon-expand-buffer-zone in southern Lebanon. Government ministers from the Religious Zionism and Jewish Power factions, and Likud parliamentarians, https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/right-wing-mks-demand-full-idf-occupation-of-lebanon-up-to-litani-river-evacuation-of-locals/ for Israeli sovereignty and settlement in that country. The finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has https://www.newarab.com/news/smotrich-calls-bit-bit-israeli-expansion-damascus to “expand to Damascus”, and Netanyahu himself https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-says-hes-on-a-historic-and-spiritual-mission-endorses-vision-of-greater-israel/ “very much connected” to this territorial vision of Greater Israel.
However, Greater Israel should be seen**** as a geopolitical and strategic concept as much as a territorial one. The acquisition and control of land is, in many respects, the obvious and easy part. Israel’s prime minister is pursuing something both more ambitious and more sophisticated than the simple control of territory – a project of dominion that is made up of new alliances, underwritten by hard power dependency.
To understand this, we need to go back a few years. After the terrible crimes inflicted on Israelis on 7 October, and as the magnitude and cruelty of Israel’s response in Gaza became clear, its attempts at regional integration – normalising relations with Arab neighbours – became increasingly stuck. Netanyahu faced a choice: either resume efforts at regional normalisation via a more accommodationist approach to the Palestinians, or double down on his zero-sum negation of a Palestinian future. In opting for the latter, Netanyahu needed to remove https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran as a regional power balancer – a move that required direct and massive US military engagement alongside Israel.
In the days preceding the Iran war, two influential former Israeli security figures https://jiss.org.il/siboni-winner-the-shiites-and-sunnis-against-israel/ for the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security observed that, from the point of view of key regional Sunni states, overthrowing the Iranian regime or weakening it significantly would establish Israel’s status as the “dominant regional power”.'
Thoughts @Cje95
Israel is a small, rich country surrounded by hordes of jealous, poor countries. There are no easy answers to such a situation. Expansion is viewed as a threat and provokes terrorist attacks. Isolation is seen as sign of weakness and provokes terrorist attacks. Expansion allows more means of managing the threats but comes with additional costs. Game theory suggests world domination would only elimate the threat temporarily, because inevitably some regions would end up becoming poorer than others and begin instigating new terrorist attacks to extort the rich regions.
This is why envy is the worst of sins and the origin of all strife. The only path to peace is for each individual man to relinquish the communist ideal of altruism from his soul, pursue his own ends out of pure selfishness, permit other men the same opportunity, and not covet differences in outcome. And when any country breaks this social contract with totalitarian collectivism and flagrantly promotes extortion as a moral good, everyone else in region has a duty to bomb the shit out of them.
We can assume Israel is on the right side of this equation because the Guardian is always wrong.
The idea that a people might be content with ownership and control of their land and to leave other cultures to own and develop their land is not too complex surely?
But The Greater Israel Project seems to be based upon a Biblical text which asserts that God granted the Jews all the land between the Nile and Euphrates rivers.
The USA appears to be supporting Israels expansionary ambitions but this process threatens and undermines the global consensus that has been developed since WW2 where aggressive land grabs such as Hitlers Nazis undertook have been outlawed under international law.
China has no history or culture of expansionary imperialist imperatives- it has always limited its external influence to expecting tribute from countries with land borders and establishing trading posts (Chinatowns) in overseas areas where there is a natural trading relationship and potential.
This contrasts with the European tradition, which China learned of so brutally in The Opium Wars.
The European tradition was to seize and holding the bible in one hand and a gun in the other.
The European empire has shifted its geographical base to USA and all along was financed by Jewish bankers.
As The British Empire declined the Jews demanded a foothold in the Middle East and gained it, and ever since have sought to expand it by all and any means possible.
Where does this end?
USA is a declining empire- over stretched and increasingly exposed as vulnerable to new asymmetric warfare technologies, and Chinas winning the trade war.
Many of the Gulf States may see a better security arrangement by grouping together and perhaps aligning more with China, as China is now the dominant buyer of their energy exports.
Trump is desperately trying to manage the decline of the US empire but as he does the world sees new structures and alliances as increasingly viable if not inevitable.
I don't believe your claim that Iran and the PRC don't have imperialist ambitious, because for one thing, the regimes themselves are imposing ideologies not native to the region, by force, so they're already not representative of the people they're governing. And they inflict such brutality on their own civilians that all of their neighbors are rightfully suspicious and probably justified in planning a regime change that would receive significant support from within.
Surely the modern CCP is closely aligned to the tradition of Imperial dynasty.
Xi is emperor for life.
CCP governs under a quasi Heavens Mandate.
(Govern adequately or we will cut your throat)- preferable in many ways to the unaccountable corporate sponsored sham that is modern western democracy.
China have modernised the economic model to employ western science, technology and productive potential, but still adhere strongly to a Han culture and quasi Confucian worldview.
China always considered all other cultures somewhat inferior and did not want more and needed contact with them. They saw the world as centred in China and the further you got from China, the less civilised you must be. Until the shock of The Opium Wars forced a century of humiliation and ultimately dramatic political, cultural, scientific and economic adjustment.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_Wars
Iran, similarly in response to the brutality of western imperialism has dug deep into its cultural roots and sense of pride in Persian culture- it has modernised its science and technology out of necessity to be able to now respond and repel western imperialist aggression.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Mosaddegh
When a proud culture is attacked it will naturally turn to its roots and become somewhat reactionary...that is what has happened in Iran, Afghanistan and China.
The west has yet to ultimately defeat any of them.
You never thought that eventually some of the oldest and deepest cultures would not respond to western imperialism and seek paths to regain their own self determination?
Perhaps the extent to which China might be compelled to become expansionary will be determined by how aggressively the west seeks to militarily resist Chinas so far peaceful mercantile trade based model.
When the shipping routes for your energy imports are obstructed by Trumps pirate navy how would anyone respond other than militarily?
Currently China is appealing to the rather tattered edifice of 'international law' and the United Nations, but if as can be expected they are impotent, what next?
Trump has to meet with Xi in two weeks time...having postponed the meeting once already.
The imperialist logic the west has applied is now known to others, and the technology needed to apply it is now increasingly available to China, Iran, Russia and others.
What was good for western imperialists might now be turned upon the west.
TACO Trump cannot credibly cry wolf, if/when his imperialist brutality and sponsoring of The Greater Israel Project is turned upon him.
USA might consider ending the humiliation of being used by the Zionists, before its too late?
Please do. That's the point. It's obvious bait. The US does this every time they want to start a war. They parade their military around your borders and blockade your allies and wait for you to attack so they can claim it's self-defense. We're not even hiding it.
No it isn't. The Industrial Revolution had nothing to do with imperialism. Military superiority was only a side effect of capitalism. And you are, once again, ignoring a massive capitalist breakthrough.
You don't have it. You haven't unified China and when war breaks out it will be unified by the Republic, not the communist party. Your economy is a paper tiger, your military is a paper tiger, and your diplomacy is a paper tiger. The communists are poor, weak, and nobody likes them.
Trump is literally debating with himself right now as to how many Iranians are worth killing and for what. Same situation in Cuba. Venezuela was liberated in a day and everyone's happy. Would Taiwan be this easy for Xi? Hell no.
You should have done it while Biden was president. There's no path to victory now.
The imperialist logic the west has applied is now known to others, and the technology needed to apply it is now increasingly available to China, Iran, Russia and others.
No it isn't. The Industrial Revolution had nothing to do with imperialism. Military superiority was only a side effect of capitalism. And you are, once again, ignoring a massive capitalist breakthrough.
The British Empire had vastly superior Navy and firepower cannons than the Chinese.
Because of its manufacturing and technological superiority.
The ability to make things competitively is important in trade and economy and in war.
When the Chinese declined to enter into trade with Britain the British Navy invaded and humiliated the Chinese and then forced reparations on the Chinese and endless concessions.
Reminiscent of modern day Trump.
The aggressor blaming the target for defending themselves and then seeking to enslave them.
China has learned from this and so has embraced engineering and productive capability- and so has won the trade war- USA today cannot refine rare earths- Trump has to beg Xi for them China makes the majority of components essential to modern warfare and is building a Navy that will dominate the oceans. But China is in no hurry as it knows the current trajectory is all in its favour. Meanwhile TACO Trump sees his empire slowly fading and desperately seeks to prop it up a little longer while its Jewish financiers seek to seize their 'Greater Israel' regional hegemony before China is entirely dominant and Israel would risk annihilation.
Trump is literally debating with himself right now as to how many Iranians are worth killing and for what. Same situation in Cuba. Venezuela was liberated in a day and everyone's happy. Would Taiwan be this easy for Xi? Hell no.
Trump has 14 days before he must meet with Emperor Xi and deal with reality.
TACO ain't getting no more refined rare earths from Xi- not while the Strait of Hormuz is closed and Chinas energy imports are blocked.
Trump cannot make any more interceptors without refined rare earths, and Trump is out of Interceptors.
Trump looks like the Big Loser...he bluffed and gambled the last dregs of the fading US empire and is getting called out by Iran, and China.
TACO Trump is a a one trick wonder, and hes out of interceptors.
China wins without firing a shot.
Welcome back to the motherland Taiwan!
We know you are tired of kissing Eswatinis.
But why was their technology superior? The answer is capitalism, not imperialism. Capitalism came first, then imperialism. Not recognizing this makes you a cargo cult. You're doomed.
Hence you weren't able to stop this visit from happening. He'll be visiting D.C. soon enough.
But why was their technology superior?
This is the question!
Was it capitalism- yes perhaps to some extent- but also the deeper culture of questioning and examining things which developed in the Protestant European nations.
To have strong technology you need a strong culture where individuals grow up more in an environment of love than fear. Where learning is valued and promoted and where questioning established wisdom allowed.
Where progress is celebrated and welcomed by citizens- where there is a sense of pride and commitment to the nation and its culture.
Where the productive economy is internationally competitive and can build the things your innovators design at an internationally competitive price.
Today China has just that.
Children excitedly study engineering and science - 80% of the politburo are engineers.
When a new port facility or bridge or power plant is built the people of the region celebrate and rejoice another step has been taken toward advancing their collective wealth creation capacity. Such unity of purpose and drive is almost gone for western cultures where most citizens are mired in introspective self analysis and political apathy and a feeling of helplessness because so much has been outsourced- to China!
China leads in most of the fundamental drivers of the post industrial economy.
Power generation, energy efficiency, EVs, PVs, drones, nanotech, rare earths, logistics, ship building, ports, airports, robotics, biotech, construction, engineering, medicine and across the board research and development.
The west today is a bloated self entitled and increasingly divided and dysfunctional culture and economy with no united and cohesive sense of values and purpose - mired in debt and crumbling infrastructure because its politics have been captured by sly corporate lobbyists who do not give a damn about the broader strategy but only serve their short sighted rentseeking profit motive...ie crony capitalism...and citizens who know they have been screwed but do not know how to fix it.
Their first concern also their own self interest- with the war in middle east they worry about the price of gas without bothering to understand The Greater Israel Project and how their leaders (and media) have been captured by extremist Zionist war criminals and usurers.
The dominant incentives and culture is to speculate on non productiove assets using debt leverage- not to produce things that can be exported and sold at a profit thereby enriching the nation- no because that is now almost impossible- Elon Musk is an exception to an otherwise very tragic overall dynamic of non productive self indulgent debt fueled consumerism.
China has a government that knows it must succeed or it will face execution by the masses.
There are no sham elections where both candidates are owned by Goldman Sachs and Chevron.
There are no Zionist bankers holding Xis arm behind his back.
That is self determination.
Enabling and building technological and manufacturing dominance.
That is empire building.
The answer is capitalism, not imperialism.
If Trump’s naval mission ‘only half-thought out’, it could lead to ‘disaster’
We have more from Harlan Ullman at the Killowen Group.
The former US naval officer said the risks of Trump’s Project Freedom are significant and could lead to dangerous escalation if Iran chooses to resist it.
“Iran has huge amounts of drones and small craft that could make this very, very difficult,” Ullman told Al Jazeera. “I would hate to see a confrontation where an American warship is hit, because then the Americans will have no other option except to retaliate.”
He expressed hope that Trump’s announcement marked a diplomatic “breakthrough” made in coordination with Iran and the mediators in the talks between the two countries. “I hope the Pakistanis, the Omanis, or the Saudis have been instrumental in some kind of pre-negotiation to allow this to happen,” he said.
Ullman said success ultimately requires diplomacy. “The only solution to this crisis is a reopening of the strait, followed by a long diplomatic negotiation with Iran to deal with its nuclear ambitions. If this mission is a well-considered first step, well done to the Trump administration. But if it has only been half-thought out and leads to escalation, it could be a disaster.”
He added, “Negotiation, not bombardment, is the only way this will be solved without disrupting the international economic order.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/5/4/iran-war-live-tehran-says-trumps-hormuz-mission-violates-ceasefire
Interview with the author of this article-