Publications on Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict

In the recent incident in which an IDF patrol on the Golan Heights was struck by a roadside bomb, all signs point to the bomb’s having been placed by Hizbollah-backed forces, apparently with the knowledge and aid of Assad’s forces. Indeed, it is likely that all three incidents in March – two on the Syrian border, in territories controlled by the Assad regime and Assad loyalists, and the third in the area of Mount Dov, a Hizbollah stronghold – were Hizbollah attacks against Israel.

The March 5, 2014 seizure of the Klos C is a blow to Iran, which clearly invested considerable effort and resources in organizing the weapons shipment and attempting to conceal the ship’s course and cargo. This was not the first time that Israel succeeded in intercepting such shipments, and it thus proved again that it has significant intelligence capability to penetrate the Iranian system, as well as the operational capacity to take targets by surprise and act hundreds of kilometers from Israel’s borders. Yet while the Klos C...

2013 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of al-Qaeda and twelve years since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States. Despite the global counterterror campaign conducted against al-Qaeda, the organization and its affiliates are still responsible for the vast majority of terror attacks in the world, which kill and wound thousands of people every year. In addition to their involvement in terrorist attacks, al-Qaeda and its affiliates exert much influence in the international system, far more than their...

The military and political arenas are closely linked in Israel’s fight against terrorist and guerrilla organizations. Israel is a democratic country subject to legal and moral constraints and restraints, and therefore, when it initiates a military operation against such organizations, its justifications are important, as they will later affect its international legitimacy or lack thereof. This article discusses the Iron Dome system, which is designed to provide active protection for Israeli citizens. It attempts to answer...

The announcement by al-Qaeda head Ayman al-Zawahiri that he is severing ties with the group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) aroused much interest in the media and surprised many people. However, both friction between al-Qaeda Central and its global jihad affiliates and conflicts among the group’s supporters is not unusual. Moreover, the recent formal public declaration by Zawahiri did not come from nowhere; it was another stage in the growing tension between him and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of ISIS.

The demonstrations in Tahrir Square three years ago that resulted in the ouster of President Husni Mubarak and the subsequent parliamentary and presidential elections led to the rise of the short-lived Muslim Brotherhood government. Today, Egypt is facing another election campaign, which will apparently result in General Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi’s election as president. The mass street demonstrations accompanied by suppressed violence, which initially accompanied the changes of government in Egypt, have since given way to more intensive...

  Betweenthe start of suicide bombings in the recent past, carried out by Hizbollah inLebanon in the early 1980s, and the beginning of the twenty-first century, some200 suicide attacks took place around the world. A dramatic increase in suicideterrorism around the world began in early 2000, and overall some 3,500 suicideattacks have taken place over the last three decades. The reverberations of theSeptember 11 attacks led to a significant increase in the role played byterrorist organizations identified with al-Qaeda and global...

Focus in the analytical essays compiled here is on Israel’s strategic environment, particularly the challenges and opportunities that await Israel in 2014. In 2013 the Middle East continued to grapplewith several risk-laden issues and processes that began in previous years, includingthe socio-political unrest in many Arab states and the increased power ofradical Islamic elements in lawless areas near Israel’s borders; the ongoingcivil war in Syria; the unresolved Iranian nuclear issue; and the wide gaps betweenIsrael and the...

This article presents a balance of Israel’s strategic security situation, and suggests that the current balance is generally positive. It maps the security challenges and considers how Israel can best deal with the challenges before it, while arresting negative trends and taking advantage of opportunities to stabilize and enhance the positive aspects of the balance. The analysis features a multidisciplinary approach, examining  the interface between the various challenges through an integrated look at political, diplomatic, social,...

A recently captured document written by the commanderof al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (al-Qaeda in Hijaz) reviews theorganization’s strategy in 2011-2012, when operatives seized control of severalprovinces in the southern part of Yemen. It reveals the organization’s internaldebate regarding its relationship with the local Yemeni population,deliberations that were prompted by the organization’s drive to gain popularsympathy and support in its fight against the Sana’a government. The documentoffers a rare glimpse into the mindset...