'Know the enemy'

Trump's plan for Middle Eastern peace, first announced in September 2025, was rejected by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. The plan had been criticized for failing to account for jihadi concepts of death and time, leaving Israel vulnerable to prolonged conflict.

The rejection, though strategically necessary for Jerusalem, was based on assumptions that Hamas and allied groups could be disarmed - premises that may not hold. Jihadi fighters and their supporters in Iran, Turkey, Qatar and elsewhere are likely to continue preparing for violence, with potential escalation to chemical, biological or nuclear conflict in worst-case scenarios.

Fundamental to understanding the conflict is recognizing that future wars between Israel and jihadi adversaries would have little connection to Palestinian sovereignty. The Hamas-led massacre of October 7, 2023 demonstrated this disconnect from any rational strategy for Palestinian statehood. Analysts point instead to deeper Islamist motivations rooted in overcoming personal mortality through religious sacrifice and martyrdom.

The Quran's Sura 2:154 states: "Do not think that those who are killed in the way of Allah are dead, for indeed, they are alive, though not aware."

For Israel, the core threat comes from adversaries viewing violence against Jews and the Jewish state as sacred. Israeli planners must distinguish actual Middle Eastern conflict realities from misperceptions - examining the interrelated concepts of death, time and war.

A key challenge is understanding how jihadi groups pursue "power over death" Through faith-based violence. While leaders publicly revere operatives as "martyrs," Commanders themselves often avoid personal risk, operating from locations like Qatari hotels. Jihadi leaders provide financial support to families of those who die in operations, offering them promised immortality as compensation.

Historical precedent shows how states have long promised citizens "power over death" Through national loyalty. Such promises, while seductive, can foster violence and terrorism. Israel's task should not be eliminating adversarial hopes for immortality, but disconnecting that search from brutal conduct.

As ancient military strategist Sun Tzu advised: "Know the enemy." For Israel, understanding the true sources of adversarial war and terror - rooted in complex intersections of death and time - is essential to developing effective long-term security strategy.