Publications

Over the past decade, the amount of natural gas in electricity generation in Israel increased significantly, while the use of coal and diesel declined. Alongside the economic and environmental advantages, the use of natural gas raises new issues of electricity security and systemic robustness, because it is supplied through only two pipelines from the offshore reservoirs to the coast, without any storage capacity within Israel. Moreover, gas-based production is concentrated at a small number of production sites, and the transmission...

Thirty years after the signing of the peace agreement between Israel and Jordan, water cooperation remains a central pillar of the relationship between the two countries. Jordan’s water crisis presents challenges for the kingdom, potentially leading to internal social and political unrest, mass migration, and even destabilization of regional order. These scenarios also have implications for Israel, which sees the stability of Jordan and the region as an important security anchor. Against this backdrop, the two countries should view...

California is facing a dual crisis: climate and energy. As rising temperatures underscore the vulnerability of California’s power grid, the state passed Senate Bill 100, aiming for 100% clean energy by 2045, and promoting solar generation and zero-emission vehicles. Israel’s delay in establishing renewable energy facilities and integrating energy storage can be attributed to the lack of appropriate electrical infrastructure, and burdensome regulation—cultivating an inability to reach agreements on comprehensive electricity reform....

The Swords of Iron war has highlighted the urgent need for a new security strategy for Israel’s electricity sector, given the military threats that have materialized as well as the emerging climate risks and technological advancements. Israel’s unique status as an “electricity island,” cut off from neighboring power grids, coupled with its heavy dependence on the natural gas industry, makes it especially vulnerable to threats to its energy infrastructure. All these factors require Israel to formulate a new concept for the security of...

The war in Gaza has sharpened the understanding in Israel that national resilience depends, inter alia, on the ability to produce and provide food in routine times and in states of emergency. A primary challenge apparent in the food production and distribution system in Israel as a result of the war is the severe shortage of human resources along the supply chain, particularly in agriculture. The dependence of the Israeli food system on imports might undermine its stability in the face of two principal challenges: climate changes,...

Most developed countries recognize that to meet the targets that were defined in the 2015 Paris Agreement for tackling the climate crisis, political and economic tools are necessary to facilitate the flow of money from the government and the private sector. Environmental regulations, such as carbon taxes, encourage energy efficiency and limit the use of polluting fuels, and also bring in money that promotes green initiatives and transitions to green energy. However, in Israel there is no move in this direction; there is no climate...

This document details the insights gleaned thus far from research on the main challenges facing continued food supply to Israel during the current emergency situation. It sketches different scenarios that could develop in the war and indicates what is needed to ensure the ability to continue to produce food in Israel at the end of the war and thereafter. Immediate intervention by the state is necessary to ensure stable food supply while preventing the collapse of local agricultural production in the long term. This requires the...

Against the background of the war in Gaza, this article assesses the situation of Israel’s ports and the operation of Israeli overseas trade. It examines the types of activity and the unique features of Israel’s ports and their limitations. It also describes the problems encountered in the various types of overseas trade (including containers, bulk shipping, and energy), and offers recommendations for its continued activity, taking into account the challenges of wartime. The principal recommendations are: – Improving land...

The surprise attack on Israel and the ensuing Swords of Iron war have created a dangerous geopolitical security crisis, which inter alia challenges the processes of reconciliation and normalization between Israel and Arab countries. However, the crisis could also provide a historic window of opportunity for a joint agreement between Israel, the United States, and the pragmatic Sunni states who seek the best for the Middle East and prefer to cooperate for the sake of regional calm and stability. The climate crisis is among the...

Global supply chains have been challenged increasingly in recent years, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. These challenges join others deriving from long-term geopolitical changes, including deglobalization processes resulting from tensions between the powers and global competition for resources, with the emphasis on minerals that are critical for advanced industries. Combining fundamental challenges to the global supply chains with the climate challenge could create the “perfect storm” that leads to...

Read the INSS Strategic Analysis for 2023

Energy consumption on earth is expected to rise in the coming decades, due to the increase in the world population and the economic and industrial growth of developing countries. One of the most effective and green alternatives for creating energy is nuclear fusion. The ITER, the international project to study nuclear fusion, is one of the ambitious ventures to construct a research reactor, and there are other projects that in recent years have achieved international breakthroughs in a field that is expected to become critical to the...