Editing Openai/688608a4-457c-8006-a7e1-658159d1705b (section)

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Yes, Netanyahu has referenced biblical texts in recent years, including during the 2023–2024 war. The most widely reported one was:

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He reportedly referenced this story as justification for erasing Hamas — but critics (both Jewish and international) pointed out that the story includes killing every male, and in its original context, it was tribal vengeance.

===== This kind of rhetoric is absolutely religious in source and emotional impact. When a prime minister uses ancient scripture to justify modern military operations, it's not just political anymore — it's invoking Biblical moral legitimacy, which is dangerous. =====

Even many Jewish scholars and Israeli civil society leaders condemned this because:
* It drags the state into religious-nationalist extremism.
* It mirrors the same logic used by Islamist leaders who quote Quranic verses in warfare.

===== This is where the nuance matters. =====
* Israel’s founding documents and laws are secular, though they refer to the “Jewish people” (as an ethnicity/nation).
* The government coalition in 2023–2024 (Netanyahu with Ben Gvir, Smotrich, etc.) included religious fundamentalists who have a theocratic mindset.
* So, while Netanyahu personally isn’t a religious scholar, he has empowered and relied on religious extremists for political survival.

In this context, yes — the government is showing increasing theocratic influence, and statements like his absolutely reflect religious ideological infiltration into policy.

But the state apparatus (courts, law, military) is still largely secular in design.

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Here's the logic chain:
* The root cause is political: land, displacement, colonization, rights.
* But religious extremists (on both sides) are increasingly dominating: - Israeli settlers and Religious Zionists using Torah to claim “divine land.” - Hamas using Quranic language to rally for “jihad.”
* When leaders invoke divine texts to justify killing civilians, it pushes the conflict into “religious war” territory — even if it didn’t start that way.