Religious nationalists in Palestine and Israel. Back to the start?

The article considers the reasons for the rise of religious nationalism which has been politically coloring the decades long confrontation between the Jews and the Palestinians. The naissance of Palestinian nationalism and the clash of the two national movements under the British mandate warrant a parallel with present-day developments. While the religious component has always been present, albeit to varying degrees, in the discourse of various nationalist forces (liberal, right-wing, socialist), it received a new impetus by the Israeli occupation of Arab lands after 1967 war. The war in Gaza has highlighted the special role that religious nationalists are currently playing on both sides. The rise of religious nationalism, which resulted from the absence of a settlement of the Palestinian problem is a major destabilizing factor. The military confrontation between Hamas and Israel provides additional material for the analysis of religious nationalism at the present stage, its role in creating mutually exclusive narratives and radical practices, increasingly narrowing the possibilities of eventual compromises.