Publications

Read the INSS Strategic Analysis for 2023

The strategic assessment for Israel for 2021 is shaped by significant uncertainty in three principal areas: the level of success in coping with COVID-19; the modus operandi and policies of the new administration in the United States; and the political developments in Israel. The current assessment is based on a broader conception of national security, which places greater weight than in the past on the domestic arena and on threats to internal stability, social cohesion, values, and fabric of life. This of course does not detract...

The strategic assessment for Israel for 2021 is shaped by significant uncertainty in three principal areas: the level of success in coping with COVID-19; the modus operandi and policies of the new administration in the United States; and the political developments in Israel. The current assessment is based on a broader conception of national security, which places greater weight than in the past on the domestic arena and on threats to internal stability, social cohesion, values, and fabric of life. This of course does not detract...

The strategic assessment for Israel for 2021 is shaped by significant uncertainty in three principal areas: the level of success in coping with COVID-19; the modus operandi and policies of the new administration in the United States; and the political developments in Israel. The current assessment is based on a broader conception of national security, which places greater weight than in the past on the domestic arena and on threats to internal stability, social cohesion, values, and fabric of life. This of course does not detract...

The State of Israel’s strategic balance in 2020 is the basis for the policy recommendations for the coming year. In implementing these recommendations, it is important to emphasize the State of Israel’s overarching objectives: to strengthen Israel as a Jewish, democratic, secure, prosperous, and just state that is at peace with its neighbors. These objectives define Israel’s purpose, both in the eyes of the Israeli public and in the eyes of the international community. The State of Israel’s strategic efforts and...

After years of a weakening transatlantic alliance, exacerbated by President Trump’s four years in office, strategic cooperation between the European Union and the United States is likely to resume. This cooperation is necessary to tackle the coronavirus crisis and its consequences, as well as the geopolitical and technological changes that have occurred over the last two decades. The renewed dialogue between the two sides of the Atlantic will have implications for several other actors in the international arena, primarily...

Former Vice President Joe Biden has been elected President of the United States. While millions of votes were still being counted, President Trump declared victory and stated that he would appeal to the Supreme Court to stop the counting process. From the outset, Biden will have to immediately devote himself to domestic issues, after four years in which racial tensions reached their worst point in decades and the spread of the coronavirus wreaked enormous damage on public health and the economy. Israel’s analysis of the incoming...

The Palestinian system has been going through a process of critical reassessment for several months. There have been some attempts at rapprochement between the two principal camps – Fatah on the one hand, and Hamas and the other factions on the other. The most recent catalyst behind such efforts was the normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE, which was interpreted as a withdrawal of the Arab support for the strategy underlying the Palestinians’ national struggle against Israel. In turn, the Palestinian camps are trying to...

The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) held a Cabinet meeting to analyze the peace and normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Researchers focused on the background to the agreement and its implications for Israel and the Middle East. Participants addressed several questions, among them: What is included in the agreement, and what was omitted? Which objectives of the Trump administration propelled the Accords? Why was the UAE in such a hurry to sign the agreement at this time? What...

The normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, announced with much fanfare on August 13, 2020, comes at a time when the Palestinian camp is at one of its weakest strategic points since its establishment. Senior Palestinian Authority (PA) officials responded with a mixture of outrage and frustration, and the PA has clearly lost an important asset – its veto power over normalization between Israel and the Arab world. However, precisely in these circumstances, Israel would do well to adopt a broad, supportive...

On August 13, 2020, a significant breakthrough between Israel and the United Arab Emirates was announced on the road to the establishment of full relations. The agreement, under the auspices of the United States, is an important reinforcement for the moderate pragmatic camp in the region against Iran and both Shiite and Sunni radicals. Vis-à-vis the Palestinians, the agreement removes the issue of unilateral annexation from the agenda, and improves opening conditions for negotiations and a future arrangement.

In January 2020, the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) hosted its 13th Annual International Conference. Entitled “Strategic Assessment for Israel: A Look at the Coming Decade,” the conference included discussions, simulations, and lectures on strategic issues important to Israel’s national security. The conference was attended by decision makers, opinion leaders, and leading researchers from Israel and abroad. We invite you to read the digital version of the booklet that summarizes the conference...