Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza both have significant national and religious implications. There is ample evidence of Hamas fighters wearing ribbons with Islamist symbols and slogans, using classical Islamist and jihadist language. As expected, Israel responded with a devastating war on Gaza. While the Israeli public was shocked and horrified by the brutality of the attack, the fundamentalist, diehard national-religious faction in Jewish-Israeli society interpreted it within their own religious and national context. The Israeli government is a coalition of Jewish fundamentalists, including both ultra-Orthodox and national-religious groups, which are the two main trends of Orthodox Judaism in Israel. Members of ultra-nationalist parties like “Ha-Tzionut Ha-Datit” (Religious Zionism) and “Otzma Yehudit” (Jewish Power) have used messianic and, at times, genocidal rhetoric regarding Gaza, and have aggressively advocated for an escalation in the fighting rather than a ceasefire.

In January 2024, Hamas released a document titled “Our Narrative—Operation al-Aqsa Flood,” in which they outlined several reasons for the timing of their attack. The first reason mentioned was the perceived imminent threat to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, posed in their eyes by the ultra-nationalist Minister of Internal Security Itamar Ben-Gvir. Ben-Gvir is known for his radical right-wing activism and his association with the teachings of Rabbi Meir Kahane, a fundamentalist proponent of building the Third Temple on the ruins of the al-Aqsa Mosque. Kahane was the founder of Kach, a political party that was later designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union, the United States, and Canada.

According to Matti Steinberg, an Israeli scholar and former senior adviser to the heads of Israeli internal intelligence, Hamas made a strategic decision to plan and carry out the attack following the intercommunal violence during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in 2021. This wave of violence, which began in Jerusalem and spread throughout the country, eventually led to a round of conflict between Hamas in Gaza and Israel in April–May 2021. During these events, Hamas used the symbol of the al-Aqsa Mosque to advance its own political interests after the Palestinian Authority canceled the elections, a move that weakened Hamas politically. On May 10, 2021, Hamas launched rockets from Gaza toward Jerusalem, disrupting the Religious Zionists’ annual flag march that passes through Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter, which is meant to celebrate Israel’s conquest in 1967 with national-religious slogans. Through this act, Hamas humiliated the Palestinian Authority and positioned itself as the sole protector of al-Aqsa, the Palestinian nation, and the Islamic faith as a whole. 

Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack was named Operation al-Aqsa Flood, after the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. In Arabic, it is called عملية طوفان الأقصى (Tufan al-Aqsa). The reference is clear—it refers to the Biblical flood that also appears in the Qur’an in Chapter (sura) 71 named after the prophet Noah. In the quranic context, it symbolizes Allah’s wrath against the infidels and sinners.

Hamas had previously used the motive of the flood in September 2022, during the movement’s 35th anniversary celebration. The slogan of the rally was “We come in a roaring flood” (آتون بطوفان هادر). A Hamas-affiliated intellectual from Gaza interpreted this slogan as a promise that “the fighters of al-Qassam Brigades would come like a flood, purifying the land from Zionist filth and will fill the land with justice …” A song with the same title was sung during the event, and its lyrics were very explicit.

There are many reasons and motivations for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict as a whole and particularly for the timing and manner of Hamas’s attack on October 7. The reasons for the attack include hindering Israeli–Saudi normalization efforts and a desire to bring the Palestinian issue to the forefront of the international agenda. However, it is important not to overlook the strong national-religious elements and motivations behind it. Ignoring these factors would be missing a crucial point.

Israel Should Declare: On the Temple Mount a Mosque Must Stand

The 144-dunam (about 35.5 acres) holy esplanade, located in the southeast corner of Jerusalem’s Old City, is known as the Temple Mount to Jews and as al-Aqsa Mosque, and sometimes al-Haram al-Qudsi al-Sharif (the noble sanctuary of Jerusalem) to Muslims. It holds great significance for both faiths. The Temple Mount is considered Zion, the ancient site of both the First and Second Temples, mentioned in the Bible as being built by King Solomon over 3,000 years ago. It is the manifest symbol of ancient Judaism. In contrast, al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam after Mecca and Medina, and it is viewed as a prominent national-religious site for Palestinian Muslims. The Dome of the Rock, built in the center of the esplanade in the 7th century, is the first monumental shrine and building constructed by Muslims in history. Its presence has endured for approximately 1,400 years, surpassing the combined lifespan of both Jewish temples.

Some national-religious Jews believe that, in order to fulfill the messianic goal of Zionism, Israel must destroy the mosque and rebuild the Temple. However, the Muslims of Palestine feel it is their duty to preserve and protect their mosque as a part of Islam. Violence between Palestinian Muslims and Zionist Jews first erupted around this holy site in April 1920, and ever since, it has remained at the center of national and religious tensions in the Holy Land. Due to the site’s explosive sensitivity, Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinians maintain a delicate status quo. However, radical Jewish worshipers and advocates of the Third Temple consistently challenge this fragile equilibrium. 

The ongoing debate in Israel about the Temple Mount, which revolves around rights of access and freedom of worship for Jews, is indicative of a deeper question: the nature of collective life in Israel. Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook famously described the State of Israel as “the foundation of God’s throne in the world.” According to his perspective, Israel is not simply a “normal” modern political entity but a religious state imbued with divine holiness. If this view prevails, then it would indeed warrant the construction of a Temple on the Temple Mount, as Israeli scholar of religions Dr. Tomer Persico suggests, “Zion is the endpoint of Zionism.” In this scenario, the need for Israeli democracy, the Knesset, and the Supreme Court may be questioned.

The Judaism we know today developed after the destruction of the Second Temple by the Roman army in the first century CE. Rebuilding the Temple would signify a religious, moral, and spiritual regression, which would transform Judaism into a fossilized relic of the pagan era. The Israeli temple state, if established, will be a despotic theocracy led by a king. Its establishment will likely involve a war of attrition against the Arabs. If the Israeli temple state survives, it will carry out a mass deportation of all non-Jews from its territory. This action will result in the country being completely isolated in the international arena and will likely lead to Israel becoming a backward and poor country. It is clear that there will be no place for secular liberals in such a state, nor any significant academic or high-tech industries. Those from the intelligentsia and the middle and upper-middle classes will likely choose to immigrate out of the county. The remaining residents will be believers and those with no other option.

No need to go far in our imagination. To understand what a theocracy looks like, one can look to Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iran. Many Israeli dystopian works of literature, such as The Third Temple by Yishai Sarid; The Road to Ein Harod by Amos Kenan; Jeremiah’s Inn by Benjamin Tammuz; and even Angels Are Coming by Yitzhak Ben-Ner explore the transformation of Israel into an extreme, violent, isolated, and temple-based religious tyranny.

In contrast, in order for Israel to become a free, democratic, and prosperous country that respects civil liberties and human rights, it is crucial that the Al-Aqsa Mosque remains standing on the Temple Mount. Israel should work toward signing a peace agreement with the Palestinians, with the support of powerful Arab states in the region and under the guidance of international bodies such as the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations.

A peaceful resolution based on equality and partnership between Israelis and Palestinians is also the only scenario in which Jews will receive recognition of their connection to the Temple Mount. Perhaps, one day, they may even gain religious rights there, provided that power dynamics outside the Holy Esplanade are equal throughout the entire country.

As mentioned earlier, the Temple Mount was not spared in the current war. Hamas referred to the October 7 massacre as the “al-Aqsa flood.” Internal documents from the organization reveal their extensive presence on the al-Haram al-Sharif prior to the attack. According to discussions held by senior Hamas officials, one of the factors that motivated the terrorist organization to act was “the continuous damage by senior officials in Israel to the most sacred things for Islam.” These discussions even referenced Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s ascent to the Holy Esplanade. Other discussions involved a “positive attack” and a “call for the formulation of a plan . . . to deal with the fascist right-wing government and its policies,” among other things that took place at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Even during negotiations for the hostage deal and ceasefire, Hamas made demands regarding the status quo on the Temple Mount. In January, Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida claimed that the decision to launch the al-Aqsa Flood operation was due to the Red Heifer and the war against the “religious Zionist gangs” that control the al-Aqsa Mosque. In August 2023, the deputy chair of Hamas’s Political Bureau, Saleh al-Aroori, mentioned the takeover of the al-Aqsa Mosque, specifically warning that “this could lead to an all-out war.” The May 2021 Operation Wall Guard also occurred against the backdrop of the struggle for control over al-Aqsa Mosque, beginning with a barrage of rockets launched toward Jerusalem during the flag dance of Jerusalem Day.

From the beginning of Zionism, the leaders of the Zionist movement understood the tension between ancient prophecies and the national, modern, and secular Zionist idea. Dr. Haim Arlozorov, the “foreign minister” of the Zionist movement during the British Mandate, made it clear in 1931 that the Temple Mount was not a concern for the Zionist movement. Moshe Dayan, the minister of defense during the Six-Day War, recognized the inherent danger of the Temple Mount and established the status quo. In the minutes of the meeting of the Israeli government’s ministerial committee for the protection of the holy places, on August 13, 1967, it was written that “Jewish worshipers who ascend to the Temple Mount will be directed by the security forces to the Western Wall.” The ban on Jewish prayer on the Holy Esplanade is therefore the most distinct element of the status quo and was reaffirmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference on October 2015, when he said that “Israel will continue to enforce the old policy: Muslims pray on the Temple Mount, non-Muslims visit it.”

Prof. Avigdor Levontin, an expert in international law at the Hebrew University, wrote in a memo on June 10, 1967 (days after the Holy Esplanade was seized by the Israeli army), that “ is hard for me to assess the extent and seriousness of the Jewish difficulty . . . There is a fear that extremist circles will begin to argue that since the Temple Mount is in our hands, The time has come to take some extreme action: for the establishment of the Temple (at one end of the spectrum) to the physical expansion or emphasis of the western wall of the Temple Mount at the expense of its other non-Jewish parts.” Dayan himself wrote in his autobiography in 1976: “We must see the Temple Mount as a historical site of remembrance of the past, but not prevent the Arabs from treating it as it is now—a Muslim prayer mosque.”

The struggle over this holy site reflects the deeper conflict in Israel. The establishment of a temple and continued conflict with Palestinians will lead to the destruction of the State of Israel. To ensure the future of Israel as a free and prosperous state and a safe haven for the Jewish people, it is crucial to preserve the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Holy Mount within a regional political arrangement.