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Smotrich: "Until Damascus"

Damascus is the capital of Syria, about 40 miles from the Golan Heights that Israel already holds. In October 2024, Israel's finance minister told a European documentary crew that "the future of Jerusalem is to expand to Damascus." Two months later, Syria's government fell and Israel's army moved past the old ceasefire line into Syria. This page sets out what Smotrich said, how it was reported, and what happened next.

The documentary​

The European public broadcaster Arte aired a documentary released as "Israel: Ministers of Chaos" (also "Israel: Extremists in Power"). In it Smotrich said: "It is written that the future of Jerusalem is to expand to Damascus." According to Middle East Eye, he said Israel would expand "little by little," and the outlet summarized the vision as eventually covering the Palestinian territories and parts of Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia (Middle East Eye, 11 October 2024).

Different accounts of the clip render the key lines this way:

  • Asked whether Israel's borders should go beyond the Jordan River: "Absolutely, but slowly," as the Syrian-Armenian commentator Kevork Almassian posted it. In Almassian's rendering the film's narrator adds: "Bezalel Smotrich has a maximalist vision of the promised land. It includes not just Palestinian lands but also Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, and even Saudi Arabia. A radical vision, yes, but one widely accepted in public debate in Israel" (Kevork Almassian on X, 10 October 2024).
  • "I want a Jewish state. Bit by bit. It is written that the future of Jerusalem is to expand to Damascus. Until Damascus," as Critical Perspectives rendered it (Critical Perspectives on X, 10 October 2024).
  • Asked if sovereignty would stay between the sea and the Jordan: "It will happen step by step," and "Jerusalem alone, even up to Damascus," as the fact-checking site Misbar rendered it (Misbar, 3 December 2024).

Anadolu Agency, the Turkish state news agency, reported: "According to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the books of the Jewish sages foresee the future of Jerusalem extending to Damascus, and the eastern bank of the Jordan River will be taken over gradually," under the headline "Calls for 'Greater Israel' are rising from inside the Israeli government." Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, answering the critics, said Israel's wars in Palestine and Lebanon will "lead to peace" (Anadolu Agency on X, 11 October 2024). A Reddit post of the clip carried the title: "Israel's sovereignty will extend to include Syria's capital, says Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich" (Reddit r/USEmpire, 10 October 2024).

Every version agrees on the Damascus sentence and on the method: slowly, step by step.

An earlier statement​

Misbar also records a 2016 remark to Israel's Channel 2, when Smotrich was a member of the Jewish Home party, in which he said "Israel should annex the Syrian capital Damascus, Jordan, and parts of Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq." Misbar reports that Jordan's Foreign Ministry condemned the remarks when they resurfaced (Misbar, 3 December 2024).

What happened next​

Eight weeks after the documentary aired, Assad's government fell. On 8 December 2024 the Likud diaspora minister, Amichai Chikli, wrote that "Israel must urgently renew its control over the peak of Mount Hermon" (Amichai Chikli on X, 8 December 2024). Within days Israeli tanks crossed the 1974 ceasefire line from the Golan and reached villages in Syria's Deraa province, the Yarmouk River, and the Al-Wahda Dam (X trending, 17 December 2024). In February 2025 Israeli forces struck near Damascus and entered Quneitra, Daraa, and Ain al-Bayda (X trending, 25 February 2025). In April 2026 Smotrich named "the Hermon crown and the buffer zone" as a border Israel should keep. And in September 2026 Defense Minister Israel Katz told Syria's president that Israel would not withdraw from Mount Hermon and the security zone.

"Little by little" is what the record shows. See Lebanon and Syria Since 2024 and the neighbors, country by country.

Evidence rating for "Smotrich said on camera that the future of Jerusalem is to expand to Damascus": CONFIRMED. Evidence rating for "Israel has since taken and held Syrian land beyond the Golan": CONFIRMED.

Status: Bezalel Smotrich, Isaac Herzog, Amichai Chikli, Israel Katz, and Kevork Almassian are alive. Nothing on this page states that any of them committed a crime.

Sources​

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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