Overview
- At a recent White House briefing, reporter Jake Turx asked whether President Trump’s team had discussed rebuilding the Third Temple in Jerusalem.
- Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt replied that the topic had not come up in meetings about the president’s construction projects.
- In a follow-up interview with Belaaz, Turx said his aim was to propose leverage on Hamas by putting control of the Temple Mount on the table.
- Turx stressed he was not advocating immediate construction and described the idea as a strategic pressure point rather than a building proposal.
- Reaction ranged from criticism to support, and an Israel National News op-ed cast the public airing of the question as religiously significant.