A chorus of hawkish Israeli politicians is urging the country’s military to intensify its weekslong ground and air campaign against Hezbollah and pave the way for a more permanent presence in the country’s south.

On April 5, 18 Israeli lawmakers pressed the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to occupy and fully control southern Lebanon up to the Litani River and “evacuate” the Lebanese population there. It followed an earlier call from Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Yoel Smotrich, a powerful, extremist voice in the ruling coalition for the outright annexation of southern Lebanon.

Alongside such voices, Israel’s campaign shows no signs of slowing down. That’s despite a two-week ceasefire announced by President Donald Trump on April 7 that paused the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran and that, according to mediators, was meant to apply to Lebanon as well.

Those calling for a enlarged Israel that includes parts of Lebanon tend to shroud their ideology in religious rhetoric. Yet the view is hardly isolated to the hawkish, religious far-right. It is also nothing new. As a scholar who specializes in Middle East studies, I believe that the policy of occupying and annexing south Lebanon up to the Litani River has long held influence among parts of the Israeli government and dates back to influential Zionist leaders – secular and religious alike – before Israeli independence in 1948.

History suggests were that goal to be pursued in the course of Israel’s military campaign now, however, it would only destabilize Lebanon further, encourage regional turmoil and do little to guarantee Israel’s safety.

Early Zionism and south Lebanon

In 1918, David Ben-Gurion – an early Zionist leader and widely regarded as Israel’s founding father – argued that Israel’s natural borders included parts of modern-day Syria, Egypt, the Arabian Gulf, and should also extend north to the Litani River in southern Lebanon. Lying 20 miles north of Lebanon’s southern border, the river is about 108 miles long and serves as Lebanon’s main source of........

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