UAE condemns Netanyahu statements on 'Greater Israel'

Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Netanyahu remarks constitute blatant violation of international law and UN Charter

Israeli soldiers survey the ruins of the Gaza Strip. The UAE condemned statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abouta Greater Israel. Getty Images

The UAE on Thursday condemned statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the “Greater Israel” vision.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the remarks constitute a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter.

The ministry underscored the UAE’s categorical rejection of any threat to the sovereignty of Arab states, and called for an end to incendiary statements and actions by extremists in the Israeli government.

Mr Netanyahu, in a recent television interview, said he felt "very much" attached to the idea of Greater Israel, and that he felt a sense of “historic and spiritual mission" for the country.

A "Greater Israel" would almost certainly include areas set aside for a future Palestinian state, and possibly parts of other countries such as Jordan and Egypt.

The Arab League strongly condemned Mr Netanyahu's comments.

"The statements of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding 'Greater Israel' represent an extremist and arrogant discourse that has long cost the region and its peoples dearly," Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed, said in a post on X.

"What kind of provocation is this? And what benefit is expected from this inflammatory rhetoric? How long will extremism and extremists control the region’s future through a discourse of exclusion and marginalisation?"