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

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* For many Israelis and Palestinians, holy sites (e.g. Jerusalem’s Temple Mount/Al‑Aqsa) are deeply sacred, so emotions run high when politics intersects religion The Washington Institute<ref>{{cite web|title=The Washington Institute|url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2023/11/08/how-unique-is-the-israel-palestine-conflict/|publisher=The Washington Institute|date=2023-11-08|access-date=2025-12-22}}</ref>.
* Hamas has named its operations invoking these symbols—e.g. “Operation Al‑Aqsa Flood”—and often frames Gaza’s plight in Islamic terms of defending a sacred site prio.org<ref>{{cite web|title=prio.org|url=https://www.prio.org/comments/1093|publisher=prio.org|access-date=2025-12-22}}</ref>.

===== - Senior Israeli leaders and religious Zionists sometimes invoke Biblical narratives to justify aggressive policies, shaping political discourse in religious terms prio.org<ref>{{cite web|title=prio.org|url=https://www.prio.org/comments/1093|publisher=prio.org|access-date=2025-12-22}}</ref>Universiteit Utrecht<ref>{{cite web|title=Universiteit Utrecht|url=https://www.uu.nl/en/achtergrond/religion-plays-a-smaller-part-in-this-war-than-people-think|publisher=Universiteit Utrecht|access-date=2025-12-22}}</ref>. =====
* On the Palestinian side, Hamas draws on Islamist ideology rooted in the Muslim Brotherhood, calling for “jihad” and portraying the conflict in religious apocalyptic terms Arab News<ref>{{cite web|title=Arab News|url=https://www.uu.nl/en/achtergrond/religion-plays-a-smaller-part-in-this-war-than-people-think|publisher=Arab News|access-date=2025-12-22}}</ref>.

===== - Experts (e.g. Wagemakers, Van Liere) argue that '''religion plays a supporting role''', enhancing identity-based nationalism but not serving as the root cause—religion is woven in, but often instrumentalized The Washington Institute<ref>{{cite web|title=The Washington Institute|url=https://www.uu.nl/en/achtergrond/religion-plays-a-smaller-part-in-this-war-than-people-think|publisher=The Washington Institute|access-date=2025-12-22}}</ref>. =====
* Viewing the conflict as religious often forecloses pragmatic negotiation, since each side then imagines an intractable divine struggle rather than a policy dispute Wilson Center<ref>{{cite web|title=Wilson Center|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/religion-and-the-israel-palestinian-conflict|publisher=Wilson Center|access-date=2025-12-22}}</ref>.