The phrase “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” (often shortened to “From the River to the Sea”) is a political slogan that has been central to Palestinian nationalism since at least the 1960s. It refers geographically to the land between the Jordan River (to the east) and the Mediterranean Sea (to the west), encompassing all of historic Mandatory Palestine.

In the summer of 2025, demonstrations around the world including many at U.S. Universities featured signs with the slogan, and people chanting the slogan. When a reporter asked demonstrators at one the student demonstrations, “which river and which sea?” surprisingly many had no idea what it meant.  One commented. “You will have to ask the organizers!”

Most of the American demonstrators, to no one’s surprise,  did not know that the slogan implies the complete replacement of Israel with a Palestinian state, potentially through violent means that could involve the extermination or expulsion of Jews. 

Geographical and Historical Context

The slogan explicitly claims the entire territory “from the river” (Jordan) “to the sea” (Mediterranean) as Palestinian land that must be “freed.” This mirrors early Palestinian nationalist aspirations for a single state encompassing the entire British Mandate (1920–1948), rejecting the 1947 UN Partition Plan that divided the land into Jewish and Arab states.

It emerged in the 1960s amid the PLO’s formation, during a period when Arab states and Palestinian groups rejected Israel’s existence post-1948. For instance, Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad in 1966 spoke of “throwing  Jews into the sea,” a phrase echoed in anti-Israel rhetoric. The slogan was adopted by the PLO to symbolize “decolonization” of the full territory, but it has been linked to calls for Israel’s eradication.

Today, it’s chanted at pro-Palestinian protests worldwide, but its origins tie it to groups like the PLO (founded 1964) and later Hamas (founded 1987 as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood).

The PLO’s Use and Interpretation

The PLO, under Yasser Arafat, adopted the phrase in the mid-1960s to advocate for a Palestinian state encompassing all of Mandate Palestine. The 1964 PLO Charter (Palestinian National Covenant) called for “the recovery of the usurped homeland in its entirety,” defining Palestine as an “indivisible territorial unit” from the river to the sea. It explicitly excluded most Jews from being considered “Palestinian,” stating that only “Jews who are of Palestinian origin [those residing there before 1947] shall be considered Palestinians if they are willing to live peacefully and loyally.”

This implied the expulsion or subjugation of post-1947 Jewish immigrants (the majority of Israel’s population). The charter rejected Zionism (Jewish self-determination) as “colonial” and “racist,” framing the struggle as one to dismantle Israel.

By 1969, revisions to PLO documents emphasized a “democratic secular state” superseding Israel, but critics argue this was a facade for Arab-majority rule that would end Jewish sovereignty. The phrase thus symbolized taking over all of Israel, potentially displacing or eliminating its Jewish character.

However, the PLO shifted in 1993 with the Oslo Accords, when Arafat recognized Israel’s right to exist. Despite this, some PLO factions and successors (like the Palestinian Authority) have used the slogan ambiguously, leading critics to claim it still denies Israel’s legitimacy. For example, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describes it as “an antisemitic charge denying the Jewish right to self-determination, including through the removal of Jews from their ancestral homeland.”

Hamas’s Adoption and Explicit Goals

Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US, EU, and Israel, explicitly incorporates the phrase into its ideology, framing it as a call for Israel’s destruction. The group’s 1988 Charter (Covenant) declares Palestine an “Islamic Waqf” (endowment) that must be liberated entirely “from the river to the sea” through jihad (holy war). It states: “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it,” and accuses Jews of global conspiracies (citing the antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion). Article 11 mandates that no part of the land can be ceded, implying violent reclamation.

The charter calls for the annihilation of Israel as a “Zionist entity,” with rhetoric like “the Jews behind the French Revolution” and “warmongering Jews.” It ties this to religious duty: “The day that enemies usurp part of Muslim land, Jihad becomes the individual duty of every Muslim.”

Critics interpret this as genocidal intent: Hamas views Jews not just as occupiers but as eternal enemies, echoing historical calls to “push the Jews into the sea.” The Atlantic notes that a close read of the charter reveals a mission to “wipe out Israel,” with no room for Jewish statehood.

In its 2017 revised charter, Hamas softens some language, claiming the conflict is with “Zionism” not Judaism, and accepts a provisional state on 1967 borders (West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem) as a “national consensus.” However, it reaffirms: “Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.” This is seen as tactical—provisional acceptance while pursuing total takeover. The Wilson Center highlights that Hamas still sees Israel as a “racist, anti-human and colonial Zionist project” to be eradicated.

Post-October 7, 2023 (Hamas’s attack killing 1,200 Israelis), leaders like Ismail Haniyeh invoked religious defeat of Israel, and Yahya Sinwar threatened to “uproot” the regime.

Hamas’s actions—suicide bombings, rocket attacks, and the 2023 massacre—substantiate the view that “liberation” means violent takeover, potentially exterminating or expelling Jews to create an Islamic state.