On August 13, 2015, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gadi Eizenkot released the document “The IDF Strategy,” which describes the army’s operational options and the security level that it can provide to the country. This is a highly professional document, unprecedented in the level of disclosure and detail. Its publication highlights the Chief of Staff’s sensitivity to public opinion in Israel, both because the IDF is the people’s army and because the public’s views wield major influence on politicians making security and budget...
The Israeli government has not yet found the right way to revise the state’s traditional national security concept, which is affected by the significant decline in military threats, and adapt it to current and future challenges. The objective of the revised strategy for promoting Israel’s interests and political-security goals is to generate influence in areas beyond the state’s borders, through policy based on multidisciplinary efforts. Action should be taken to achieve maximum influence in the strategic environment through the use...
Although the Locker Commission report deals with matters of extreme importance, it leaves the impression that significant portions of the document require further research in order for them to be ready for debate. For example, the report requires in-depth staff work regarding the feasibility of its recommendations in the realm of human capital. The absence of the big picture is especially conspicuous with regard to the following questions: What are the underlying premises of the report? What threats will the IDF be required to...
On June 15, 2015, the IDF Spokesperson announced that in light of the substantial challenges facing the IDF in the cyber realm, the Chief of Staff decided to establish a cyber command to lead the operational activities in this emerging field. The cyber command will be established within two years, in the first stage both within the Military Intelligence Directorate and the C4I Telecommunications Directorate of the IDF. All future decisions with regard to the reorganization of cyber activity and construction of the new command must...
The report by the Commission of Inquiry appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to examine the events surrounding Operation Protective Edge was published on June 22, 2015. As expected, the report criticizes Israel, concluding that its military operations violated the laws of armed conflict and expressing concern regarding the possible commission of war crimes. In comparison to previous reports (such as the Goldstone report, which examined Operation Cast Lead), the new report is carefully worded. Yet despite the commission’s attempt...
Israel’s annual home front exercise took place on May 31-June 4, 2015. The practice of conducting large scale annual exercises of this type began following the Second Lebanon War in 2006, which revealed major defects in home front preparedness for emergencies. The importance of the exercise lies in its annual occurrence and its enhancement of the operational cooperation between the various agencies involved. While this year’s exercise was described in the media as designed to test the response to extreme events, future exercises...
With the establishment of Israel’s new government and in consideration of the multiple challenges facing Israel at different levels of national security, INSS has prepared a set of recommendations designed to help the government navigate the key strategic issues before it. Prepared by members of the INSS research staff, this paper offers a concise review of the leading issues Israel must deal with, as well as the “top 20” policy recommendations to the new government. The recommendations refer to regional, international, and internal...
Despite the heavy price paid by Hamas in Operation Protective Edge, it is not wasting any time preparing for the next war. For the organization, war against Israel is a tool for strategic change to entrench its rule in the Gaza Strip and establish itself as a key player in the Israeli-Palestinian arena and surpass the power base of the PA, headed by Fatah and Mahmoud Abbas. In order for Israel to postpone the next conflict with Hamas for as long as possible, two main efforts are necessary. One is to prevent the organization’s arming...
On April 27, 2015, the UN Secretary-General released a summary of the report by the Board of Inquiry appointed to investigate damage to UN facilities during Operation Protective Edge in July-August 2014. While the report states that in seven of ten incidents UN schools were damaged by IDF fire, it refrained from blaming Israel. In addition, for the first time, the report speaks of the illegitimate use of UN facilities by Palestinian militant groups. The balanced and factual nature of the report, particularly as compared with the...
This essay examines the tactics used by IDF representatives in their interviews with Arab television channels to maintain the legitimacy of the struggle against the Palestinians and justify the use of force in that struggle. The essay, based on research analyzing dozens of interviews held by the al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya networks with IDF spokespeople, shows that the IDF uses three primary tactics to achieve that goal: denial, avoidance of responsibility, and attempts to downplay the perceived measure of aggression of the event in...
Recent years have witnessed the accelerated weakening of state actors in the Middle East. In turn, regular state armies are less able to grapple with an ensuing trend, namely, the strengthening of non-state actors and their heightened regional influence. At present, there are not only semi-state entities along Israel’s borders, but also Salafist jihadist terrorist organizations along the entire border in the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. States, which bear responsibility for what happens in their territory and for the...
