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← Netanyahu's "Very Much"

How 31 Governments Answered "Very Much"

When Israel's prime minister said on 12 August 2025 that he connects "very much" to the vision of Greater Israel, the governments of the countries that sit on the biblical map did not treat it as a slip. They answered in writing within two days, and within two weeks 31 states and three regional organizations had condemned it. Some of these governments have signed peace treaties with Israel and work closely with the United States. That is what makes their alarm evidence: they have every reason to stay quiet, and they did not.

Jordan​

Jordan sits directly east of the Jordan River, on land the early Revisionist Zionists claimed as "the other bank." Its Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ambassador Sufyan Qudah, called the remarks "a dangerous and provocative escalation, a threat to the sovereignty of states, and a violation of international law and the UN Charter," and said these "futile illusions" "will not affect Jordan, Arab states, or the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people" (Amwal Al Ghad, 14 August 2025). Jordan's fear has a history; see Jabotinsky and "Both Banks of the Jordan" and the neighbors, country by country.

Egypt​

Egypt, the first Arab state to make peace with Israel, "called for clarifications," saying such rhetoric "undermines stability, rejects the path of peace in the region, and reflects an insistence on escalation" (Yaffa News Network, 14 August 2025).

Iraq​

The Euphrates runs through Iraq. Its Foreign Ministry said the statements "clearly reveal the expansionist ambitions of this entity" and are "a clear challenge to the rights of countries and a serious breach of international law and the United Nations Charter" (Alawla TV, 14 August 2025).

Saudi Arabia​

Saudi Arabia, courted by Washington for years to normalize relations with Israel, "vehemently denounced" the remarks. According to The Arabian Mirror, the Kingdom's Foreign Ministry "categorically rejected" Israeli officials' "settlement and expansionist ideas and projects," affirmed "the Palestinian people have a historical and legal right to create an independent, sovereign state on their territory," and warned against violations that "flagrantly violate the sovereignty of states" (The Arabian Mirror).

Thirty-one states and three blocs​

On 25 August 2025, Pakistan's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, told an extraordinary session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah that Pakistan joined statements by "31 states and the secretaries-general of OIC, the League of Arab States & the GCC" condemning Netanyahu's remarks. He tied them to Israel's plans "to seize full military control of Gaza City and build settlements that would sever the West Bank from East Jerusalem" (Ocean News on X, 25-26 August 2025).

The states named in the joint condemnation, as listed in a widely circulated summary of the Wikipedia account, were Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Gambia, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen (noctem26 on X, 17 June 2026). Their foreign ministers called the assertion "a blatant infringement of international law" (Wikipedia, Greater Israel). TRT World reported the same wave: Arab states called the "very attached" comments "a threat to sovereignty and a violation of international law" (TRT World on X, 13 August 2025).

The public noticed. X's trending page carried "Netanyahu's Greater Israel Vision Condemned by Arab States" with 73,253 posts (X trending, March 2026).

Voices inside Israel's own camp​

The alarm was not only Arab. A former deputy head of the Shin Bet security service, Ari Baiman, wrote in the Jerusalem Post that the statement endangered relations with Israel's existing peace partners and undermined hopes of normalization with Saudi Arabia (as summarized by Sunna Files). The Gaza-born writer Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib warned it would "isolate the Jewish state even among traditional and aspiring allies" (Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib on X, 14 August 2025).

What Israel answered​

Nineteen days later the Prime Minister's Office posted: "Contrary to the false accusation, Israel has no territorial claims against any neighboring countries." It did not retract "Very much." Within months, ministers were naming Lebanese and Syrian land as future borders. See the August 2025 denial against the record.

Why this matters to Americans​

These governments host American bases, guard the Suez Canal, and sell the oil priced in dollars. When a U.S. ally's prime minister embraces a map that includes their land, and the U.S. ambassador later says "it would be fine if they took it all," American credibility in the region is spent. See America's part.

Evidence rating for "Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and a 31-state bloc formally condemned Netanyahu's Greater Israel remarks": CONFIRMED.

Status: Benjamin Netanyahu, Sufyan Qudah, Ishaq Dar, Ari Baiman, and Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib are alive. Nothing on this page states that any of them committed a crime.

Sources​

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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