"Is Lebanon part of Israel's promised territory?" asked Mark Fish in The Jerusalem Post last month. In the quickly deleted article, Fish suggested that the land promised to the "children of Israel" in the Torah includes not only modern-day Israel but also the West Bank, Gaza and parts of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey.

Critics have pointed to the article as further evidence of "expansionist ambitions in the region" among a right-wing movement in Israel, said Middle East Monitor.

What is Greater Israel?
"Greater Israel" has "come to mean very different things to different groups", said Adrian Stein in The Times of Israel. In Israel and the diaspora today, the term is generally understood to mean "extending Israel's sovereignty to the West Bank" and, in some interpretations,  previously occupied territories in the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights.

But for some, Greater Israel means "exactly what is described in the Bible, which is to say, from the 'Euphrates to the Nile', a swathe of land "greatly exceeding the existing State of Israel in size and area".

Who supports it?
The concept of "Greater Israel" has long appealed to both "religious and secular right-wing nationalists" in Israel, said The Guardian. The Nation State of the Jewish People law, passed in 2018, explicitly includes the West Bank, referred to as "Judea and Samaria", among the territory to which the Jewish people have an "exclusive and inalienable right".

More recently, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich suggested the country would gradually extend control over parts of Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

What does it mean for the West Bank?
At least 700,000 Israeli settlers live in unauthorised settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank "intended for a future Palestinian state as per the internationally-supported two-state-solution", said Middle East Monitor.

These settlements are illegal under international law and violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions. But, emboldened by the vision of "Greater Israel" endorsed by Benjamin Netanyahu's government, "radical Jewish settlers and their far-right political backers, who have ascended to the highest levels of Israel’s government, are redrawing the map in real time", said The Washington Post.

If you've "ever sat down to watch the return of one of your favourite TV shows" only to realise you can no longer remember what happened in the previous series, "you are not alone", said Alex Farber in The Times.

Katherine Pope, a Sony Pictures Television executive, admitted this week that ever-longer delays between TV seasons were "frustrating," "untenable," and "not fair to the fans."

'Growing old waiting'
In the days when "broadcast networks ruled the world", said Josef Adalian for Vulture, "we'd rarely have to go more than four or five months before getting a fix of our favourite shows" – but all that  changed with the advent of streaming. Now, said James Poniewozik for New York Times, "you will grow old waiting for your favourite show to come back".

Apple Studio's "Severance", for instance, is finally returning in January, three years after the last season. HBO's "Euphoria", which also last aired three years ago, won't even begin filming until next year. According to recent analysis, the gap between US drama seasons now averages 515 days, up from 381 days four years ago.

Minding the gap
The Covid pandemic and the US writers' strike were responsible for some delays. But a key reason why 18-month breaks between seasons have "become common" is that "the process of making and distributing TV has become so expensive and complicated", said Adalian. As shows become more ambitious in production and storytelling, networks are "willing to take the risk of offering more time to get it right," said Emily St. James in Vox.

Sony exec Pope told The Times that the gaps were lengthening due to the industry being too "data-driven", with buyers "biding their time before deciding on a recommission" because "the growing focus on metrics in an on-demand world".

But longer gaps can mean forgotten plotlines, and some viewers may simply give up. Although "beloved" franchises such as "Stranger Things" and "Bridgerton" can "probably afford to make fans wait", said Adalian, for most shows, viewers "very much mind the gap".

London: The Dehavilland Studios, Clapton
A loft in this former aircraft-parts factory designed by Sir Owen Williams. The building is a stunning example of industrial art deco architecture. 1 bed, family bath, open-plan kitchen/living room. £875,000; Urban Spaces

Northumberland: Ridgeway, Hexham
A delightful 1930s modernist house with views across the North Tyne Valley. Main suite, 4 further beds, family bath, kitchen, 4 receps, garden, garage. OIEO £850,000; Sanderson Young

Devon: Orchard Court, Tavistock
Close to Dartmoor National Park, this attractive house is set in mature gardens. 4 beds, bath, shower, kitchen/dining room, 2 receps, garden, garage. £1.25m; Savills

Argyll and Bute: Coille Dharaich, Kilmelford, Oban
This lochside property was built in the 1970s and enjoys stunning views over Loch na Cille to the islands beyond. 4 beds, family bath, shower, kitchen, 3 receps, garden, parking. OIEO £480,000; Dawsons

Who won the Tory leadership hustings?
Tim Stanley in The Telegraph
"Kemi's the one," writes Tim Stanley. Thursday night's Tory leadership hustings showed she "has charisma" and "the members love her", while Robert Jenrick "faded from view". Badenoch "has flaws", not least her sometimes "aggressive manner", but putting the candidates "side-by-side" makes clear that "she has the indefinable superstar quality" that Jenrick "lacks". When the studio audience was polled, they "not only put their hands up for Kemi in large numbers" but also "cheered gaily".

Labour has shown a shocking weakness for unearned perks of office
Catherine Neilan at Tortoise Media
"Weeks in" and the fuss about Labour and Taylor Swift tickets "still won't die", writes Catherine Neilan. The story is "catnip for right-leaning newspapers" and has made the new cabinet look "naive and foolish" at best, and "grasping and hypocritical" at worst. Keir Starmer "campaigned on a platform of cleaning up politics" and earned the nickname "Mr Rules" in opposition, yet "he now accounts for more than a third of all gifts accepted by his party, by value".

Canada's Trudeau trap
The Economist editorial board
Outsiders "think of Canada as a freezing but pleasant place", yet "lately the country's politics have become a cauldron of recrimination", says The Economist. Justin Trudeau's journey from "a centre-left hero" to "a toxic liability" shows that the PM's "brand of sanctimonious, and sometimes illiberal, identity politics" is "no substitute for effective government". When "picking his successor", his Liberal Party "should remember that politicians need style to win office, but substance to govern".