Occupied Jerusalem- Israeli political parties are competing with each other to move draft bills in the Knesset that are dominated by the nature of religious, national, and political extremism. This reflects the trend of Israeli society towards the right and its deviation to more extremism, and clarifies the features and identity of the new Israeli trend after the “Al-Aqsa Flood.”
Under the pretext of the war on Gaza and “emergency regulations,” the Knesset enacted a package of laws that deprive freedoms and restrict human rights, in addition to legislation that carries within it implications of political and religious extremism, as it approved by an overwhelming majority a law prohibiting unilateral recognition of the State of Palestine.
The Knesset also approved, in preliminary reading, a draft law designating UNRWA as a “terrorist organization,” and a draft law on emergency regulations, which prevents detainees and prisoners during war from contacting lawyers. It also approved, in first reading, a draft law that prevents the opening of diplomatic missions in Jerusalem to provide services to the Palestinians.
Parliament’s legislation did not stop at the political track and aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Rather, the head of the “Jewish Greatness” party, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, seeks to focus on the religious aspects, as he is moving forward a draft law imposing religious replacement in Al-Aqsa Mosque under the title “Israel’s return to the Temple Mount.” “.
In light of the escalation taking place in Palestine and the regional tension in the Middle East, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly postponed the Knesset’s deliberations on the status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque, as Ben Gvir deliberately included the draft law for discussion in conjunction with the so-called “Jerusalem Unification Day” and the “Flags March.”
National and religious conflict
Antoine Shalhat, a researcher on Israeli affairs, believes that the current Knesset – even before the Al-Aqsa flood – is considered the most extremist on the national and religious levels, and this was reflected in the so-called “judicial reform” plan, which was considered a coup plan against the Israeli judicial system.
Shalhat explained to Tel Aviv Tribune Net that the prevailing and dominant trend on the political scene in Israel is the current of extremist religious Zionism, and it is the one who proposed and has the ideology of the plan to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians, and that “the Land of Israel is for the Jewish people.”
He pointed out that the religious Zionist movement is pushing behind the scenes to adopt the biblical and Talmudic teachings and the interpretations of the rabbis to be the cornerstone of Israel’s constitution, instead of the applicable laws related to human rights.
Shalhat stressed that the extreme right, in connection with the war on Gaza, pushed forward extremist religious and nationalist laws, and gave an example of voting on the law preventing unilateral recognition of the State of Palestine, which received the support of 99 members of the Knesset, saying that “this indicates where the winds are heading in the political and partisan arena.” in Israel from a national and religious perspective.”
Regarding everything related to Al-Aqsa Mosque, the researcher on Israeli affairs says that the extreme right-wing circles consider it the “Temple Mount,” and oppose the current situation in the courtyards of the mosque, which is sponsored by Jordan, as the religious Zionist movement seeks to penetrate this situation and legalize it. “The question remains whether the general atmosphere The Knesset allows such laws.”
Shalhat believes that legislating any laws that would breach the status quo at Al-Aqsa would be a new peak in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, taking on the character of a religious conflict, pointing out that the Zionist project based on secular foundations and beliefs has become captive to biblical religious thought.
Shalhat attributed the changes that the Zionist project is undergoing to the fact that all the claims put forward by Zionism, whether the “Jewish national homeland,” the “Jewish state,” and the “Greater Land of Israel,” are all claims based on religious and biblical theses.
Despite this, Shalhat doubted the possibility of the Knesset legislating the status quo at Al-Aqsa and considering it a “temple” and a holy place for Jews. He suggested that such laws would create a diplomatic crisis with Jordan and Morocco, and might lead to the cancellation of peace agreements.
In this regard, the Israeli affairs researcher says that Netanyahu was quick to announce the discussion of Al-Aqsa’s status in the Knesset and to contain Ben Gvir, in an attempt by the Prime Minister to escape to the Imam, to avoid a diplomatic crisis with the Arab and Islamic worlds whose repercussions cannot be known.
End-time events
The same proposal was adopted by Khaled Zabarqa, a lawyer specializing in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa cases, who explained that the current Israeli government is managing matters from a Talmudic religious perspective for future events, pointing out that the Prime Minister’s Office is using a group of rabbis to be advisors to Netanyahu on everything related to the biblical perspective of events.
Zabarqa pointed out to Tel Aviv Tribune Net that the current Israeli policy is based very largely on Talmudic and biblical concepts of the events of the end times, and he says that, accordingly, religious vocabulary in Netanyahu’s speech is more abundant than before, and also all government ministers have begun to adopt religious vocabulary and biblical quotations, in addition to… Speeches by ministers and rabbis of religious Zionism.
He pointed out that many secular and liberal ministers and members of the Knesset began speaking in a biblical religious language and adopting Talmudic vocabulary, which indicates the dominance of these concepts over the behavior, approach and decisions of the Israeli government based on the Talmudic religious concept of the events and fates of the end times.
The specialist in the issues of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa attributed the Israeli political arena’s strengthening of religious principles and biblical concepts in public Israeli discourse to the strengthening of the Israelis’ convictions of reaching a “decisive stage.”, On this basis, since the beginning of the war on Gaza, they have been promoting religious and biblical quotes to justify the continuation of the war.
He pointed out that the senior rabbis, specifically in “religious Zionism,” believe that despite the difficult conditions in which the Jews live in Palestine, and their immersion in fateful issues, this will lead them to salvation, and they believe that a miracle will come to save them from the state of loss in which they are experiencing this. stage.
He pointed out that the group of rabbis leading Israel at this stage sees the war on Gaza as an opportunity to eliminate the Palestinians, and they see this as the appropriate stage to leap forward on crucial issues, with everything related to Israel’s identity as a biblical Jewish state, and the Talmudic religious concept of the “Temple Mount.” Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem.
But Zabarqa believes that the religious extremism taking place on the Israeli political map will have more negative repercussions on Israel than on the Palestinians, saying that “the storming of Al-Aqsa, the march of flags, the settlers’ attacks on holy places, the war of extermination and war crimes do not only stir the feelings of the Arabs, but also raise feelings of anger against Israel around the world.
