Calls For The Destruction Of Israel

There have been explicit or implicit expressions, statements, and rhetoric made by individuals, political entities, and factions within Arab, Islamic, Palestinian or left-wing discourse advocating for the elimination of the State of Israel as a political entity. These anti-Zionist calls often involve the use of strong language, genocidal threats,Krell, G., & Müller, H. (2012)
Noch ein Krieg im Nahen Osten? Zum misslungenen Anstoß von Günter Grass zu einer überfälligen öffentlichen Debatte.
(HSFK-Report, 2/2012). Frankfurt am Main: Hessische Stiftung Friedens- und Konfliktforschung. or declarations aiming at the complete eradication of Israel. Such expressions may be manifested in official statements, speeches, charters, or public discourse, reflecting a position that denies the legitimacy of Israel's existence and seeks its destruction through various means, including military or other forms of political and ideological action.

The history of calls for the destruction of Israel is rooted in the prelude to its establishment. Leaders such as Azzam Pasha of the Arab League warned of a "war of extermination" in the event that a Jewish state was established, although the interpretation of this quotation is disputed. Prior to the 1967 Six Day War, there was a nearly unanimous consensus among Arab nations aimed at the obliteration of Israel.Freilich, C. D. (2018). ''Israeli National security: a new strategy for an Era of change''. Oxford University Press. p. 34, 37 Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser reiterated calls for the annulment of Israel's existence in the lead-up to the war.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has called for the Israeli state to be abolished and replaced with a single state that gives equal voting rights to Muslims, Christians and Jews. Khamenei has stressed the removal of Israel does not mean the removal of Jewish people. Islamist Palestinian organizations like Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad consistently promote the goal of Israel's elimination, as evidenced by their charters, statements, and actions, such as the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. Instances of media and propaganda within Palestinian discourse also contribute to expressions advocating for the destruction of Israel. The political slogan " From the river to the sea" has been linked to demands for a Palestinian state and the removal of a majority of its Jewish population, with ongoing debates about its implications and potential classification as antisemitic or hate speech.

Historical cases

Before and after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, leaders of Arab states and Palestinian Arab leaders expressed the sentiment of eliminating the newly formed nation. Historian Benny Morris has described those calls as reflecting an “expulsionist or eliminationist mindset”. In late 1947, King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia corresponded with U.S. President Harry Truman:

Around the same time, in response to the UNSCOP report, Azzam Pasha, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, stated that a war with the proposed Jewish state would lead to "a war of extermination and momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacre and the Crusades." Ephraim Karsh and David Barnett characterized this statement as a genocidal threat, while Tom Segev contested this interpretation.

In the early months of 1948, Matiel Mughannam, an Arab Christian born in Lebanon and the leader of the Arab Women's Organization, stated:

Calls for the destruction of Israel by Arab leaders, notably by Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, were repeated in the prelude to the 1967 Six Day War. Addressing the UN General Assembly in September 1960, Nasser expressed, "The only solution to Palestine is that matters should return to the condition prevailing before the error was committed, i.e., the annulment of Israel's existence." In 1964, he vowed, "We swear to God that we shall not rest until we restore the Arab nation to Palestine and Palestine to the Arab nation. There is no room for imperialism and there is no room for Britain in our country, just as there is no room for Israel within the Arab nation." In 1965, he declared, "We shall not enter Palestine with its soil covered in sand, we shall enter it with its soil saturated in blood."

The aftermath of the Six-Day War intensified sentiments among certain Palestinian groups. This period witnessed heightened calls for the eradication of Israel as part of the Palestinian cause. In July 1968, amendments were made to the Palestinian National Charter. Article 15 of the charter at that time stated: “The liberation of Palestine... aims at the elimination of Zionism in Palestine”. Article 22 stated that “the liberation of Palestine will destroy the Zionist and imperialist presence and will contribute to the establishment of peace in the Middle East”.Morris, B. (2009). ''One state, two states: Resolving the Israel/Palestine conflict''. Yale University Press. pp. 108-109, 112 Until the early 1990s, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) officially pursued the goal of destroying Israel.

Palestinian right of return

The return of Palestinian refugees to their ancestral homes, is considered by some to be "a euphemism for the destruction of Israel". Many Israelis reason that allowing Palestinian refugees would increase the Arab population in Israel, potentially making Israel into a binational state (instead of Jewish state), hence it is considered something that will destroy Israel as a Jewish state.

In 1977, Israel submitted to the United Nations, that "The Arab demand for the return of the refugees to Israel, coupled with proposals for the establishment of a Palestinian State, is calculated to bring about the destruction of Israel."
In 1993, former Israeli president Shimon Peres said that the Palestinian right of return "would wipe out" the character of Israel.

In 2018, David Horovitz said that Palestinian "March of Return", whereby Palestinian refugees attempt to return to Israel, was "nothing less than a call for the destruction of Israel". Horovitz added "Suicide bombers, rockets, and tunnels have failed. So now it’s mass marches on the border".

In contemporary political discourse

Political figures and factions within Islamic, Arab and Palestinian discourse have employed rhetoric that includes explicit or implicit calls for the end of Israel's existence. Certain extremist ideologies, both within and outside the Palestinian territories, have propagated the idea of eliminating Israel as part of their agenda.

Iran

Since the Iranian Revolution, political figures in the Islamic Republic of Iran have consistently advocated for what some see as the "destruction of Israel". Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has clarified that Iran wishes to abolish the "Israeli regime" but has no problem with the Jewish people. He said "thugs like Netanyahu" should be ousted, and all Muslim, Christian and Jewish residents should be able to choose their government. Iran has rejected the two-state solution, in which Israel would exist, in favor of supporting a one-state solution that gives equal voting rights to people of all religions. Iranian discourse also encompasses the demonization of Jews, the use of antisemitic tropes, and the denial of the Holocaust.

Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, stated in 2000 that “the cancerous tumor called Israel must be uprooted from the region”, and in 2001 that “the perpetual subject of Iran is the elimination of Israel from the region”. In 2013 he labeled Israel a country "doomed to failure and annihilation," deeming it an "illegitimate regime" led by "untouchable rabid dogs" who "cannot be called human beings." He later outlined a nine-point plan for Israel's elimination in 2014.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who served as president of Iran from 2005 to 2013, has consistently called for the elimination of Israel. In a 2005 conference titled "A World Without Zionism", he stated: "Our dear Imam (Khomeini) ordered that this Jerusalem occupying regime must be erased from the page of time," and that Iran would “wipe Israel off the map”, In 2006, he said: "Israel heading towards annihilation”, and in another statement, "The Zionist regime will be wiped out, and humanity will be liberated”. Similar calls were also voiced by Iranian parliament members, philosophers and journalists.

During a speech in May 2012, the Chief of Staff of Iran's Ministry articulated the Iranian nation's steadfast commitment to its cause, which is the complete annihilation of Israel. Hojjat al‐Eslam Ali Shirazi, serving as the representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asserted on October 2, 2012, that Iran needed a 24 hours to eliminate Israel. He further alleged that Israel was in close proximity to annihilation.

In 2017, protesters in Iran unveiled a new public clock in Palestine Square in Tehran known as the "countdown to Israel’s annihilation clock," which calculates the days remaining until Israel's predicted destruction by September 9, 2040. This is based on a declaration by Khamenei on September 9, 2015, that Israel would not survive another 25 years.

On 24 May 2024, Khamenei stated that "the divine promise to eliminate the Zionist entity will be fulfilled and we will see the day when Palestine will rise from the river to the sea." He also noted his surprise at demonstrations in Japan where the slogan "Death to Israel' was chanted in Persian.

Hamas

Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist political and military organization has advocated for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state. The 1988 Hamas Charter has been characterized as antisemitic and genocidal. The 2017 Hamas charter accepted the idea of a Palestinian state being established along the 1967 borders.

Expressions advocating for the destruction of Israel have been articulated by several figures associated with Hamas. Ahmad Yassin, a Palestinian politician and imam who played a pivotal role in the establishment of Hamas, forecasted the annihilation of Israel by the year 2027, employing the traditional Islamic concept of a 40-year historical cycle. Yassin correlated these cycles with significant events, positing that the initial cycle commenced in 1947 with the UN Partition of Palestine and concluded with the 1987 First Intifada. In this framework, the second cycle is anticipated to culminate in the destruction of Israel.

Imam Khalid Tafish, a prominent Hamas figure in Gaza, asserted a belief derived from the Quran, contending that "Jews must be destroyed twice in terrible wars." Amid the Israel–Hamas war, Ghazi Hamad

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