A controversial map published by Israel claiming historical territorial rights has sparked condemnation from Qatar and Jordan, escalating regional tensions.
Qatar and Jordan have strongly condemned the Israeli government’s publication of a map claiming historical territorial rights for Israel in occupied Palestine and large parts of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
The map was uploaded to social media by the Arabic language account of the Israeli Foreign Ministry and “showed the biblical boundaries of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judea, which extended according to Biblical accounts into different areas east of the Jordan river,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
هل تعلم ان مملكة إسرائيل كانت قائمة منذ 3000 سنة؟
أول ملك حكمها لمدة 40 عاما كان الملك شاؤول (1050–1010) ق. م. ثم تلاه الملك داود الذي حكمها 40 عاما تقريبا (1010-970 ) ق.م. وعقبه الملك سليمان الذي حكم ايضا لمدة 40 عاما في الفترة (970-931) ق.م.
دام حكم الملوك الثلاثة… pic.twitter.com/xK7jjORdOK
— إسرائيل بالعربية (@IsraelArabic) January 6, 2025
The caption in the post claimed that “the Kingdom of Israel existed 3000 years ago.”
Threat to Regional Peace
The Qatari Foreign Ministry condemned “in the strongest terms the alleged historic maps of Israel published by official accounts affiliated with the occupation government, which reportedly include parts of the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.”
The Ministry said it considered “the publication of these maps a flagrant violation of international legitimacy resolutions and the provisions of international law.”
Statement | Qatar Strongly Condemns Alleged Historic Maps of Israel Published by Occupation Government#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/FRzk7j67XI
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) January 8, 2025
It warned that the publication of these maps “would hinder the chances of peace in the region, particularly amid the ongoing brutal war on the Gaza Strip.”
The Ministry emphasized the need for the international community “to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities by pressuring the Israeli occupation to comply with international legitimacy resolutions and confront its expansionist ambitions in Arab lands.”
Palestinians’ ‘Legitimate Rights’
Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates spokesperson, Ambassador Dr. Sufian Qudah, also strongly condemned the publication and reaffirmed Jordan’s categorical rejection of such policies and provocative statements, the country’s Roya news agency reported.
He emphasized that these actions aim to deny Palestinians their right to an independent, sovereign state along the pre-June 4, 1967, lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, said the report.
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Qudah asserted that “such measures do not undermine Jordan nor detract from the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people” and denounced the claims as blatant violations of international norms and laws.
In March 2023, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich addressed an event in Paris while standing by a map of greater Israel portraying Jordan as part of the self-proclaimed Jewish state, the Anadolu news agency reported.
For decades, Israel has occupied territories in Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, resisting international calls to withdraw and opposing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital based on the pre-1967 borders, the report added.
(Anadolu, PC)
