From the river to the sea
An expansion of the motto Free Palestine that geographically delimits the intended borders for the future Palestinian state, between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, meaning that the State of Israel has no right to exist.
"From the river to the sea" (Arabic: من النهر إلى البحر, romanized: min an-nahr ʾilā l-baḥr; Palestinian Arabic: من المياه للمياه, romanized: min il-ṃayye la-l-ṃayye, lit. 'from the water to the water') is a political slogan that refers to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea – an area historically known as Palestine, which was formerly ruled by the British as Mandatory Palestine, and which today encompasses Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The phrase and its variations have been used both by Palestinians and Israelis to mean that the area should consist of one state, rather than two or three.
In the 1960s, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) used it to call for what they saw as a "decolonized" state encompassing the entirety of Mandatory Palestine. By 1969, after several revisions, the PLO used the phrase to call for a one-state solution, that would mean "one democratic secular state that would supersede the ethno-religious state of Israel".
Many pro-Palestinian activists describe the phrase as a call for peace, equality and an end to Israeli apartheid; and military rule over Palestine, while many pro-Israel groups and others interpret it as a call for the dissolution or destruction of Israel and have described it as antisemitic. Frequently, at pro-Palestine protests around the world, it has been used as a chant or rallying cry. Hamas used the phrase in its 2017 charter; some supporters of Israel and other critics have cited usage of the phrase by such Palestinian militant groups to say that it advocates for not only the dismantling of Israel, but the removal or extermination of its Jewish population. Based on these characterizations of the phrase as antisemitic or inciting violence, some countries have considered criminalizing its use. In other cases, courts and authorities have found that the phrase can fall within protected freedom of expression, depending on context, intent, and how it is used.
An early Zionist slogan envisaged statehood extending over the two banks of the Jordan river, and when that vision proved impractical, it was substituted by the idea of a Greater Israel, an entity conceived as extending from the Jordan to the sea.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “From the river to the sea” is an expansion of the motto Free Palestine that geographically delimits the intended borders for the future Palestinian state, between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, meaning that the State of Israel has no right to exist. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through river, expansion and motto, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “an expansion of the motto Free Palestine that geographically delimits the intended borders for the future Palestinian state, between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, meaning that the State of Israel has no right to exist” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q123004837. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1969 and 2017.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “From the river to the sea”, its source revision and the description used here.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “From the river to the sea” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.