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...

On June 15, 2021, Fatou Bensouda stepped down after a nine-year term as Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, succeeded by British lawyer Karim Khan. One of Bensouda’s most recent decisions was to open an investigation into alleged war crimes committed since June 13, 2014 in “Palestine,” i.e., in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. This decision drew harsh criticism from Israel, which charged that political considerations prompted Bensouda to adopt the Palestinian narrative on the conflict...

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...

The Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Finance are preparing the next defense budget, which is especially challenging in light of the current economic crisis. In this budget, similar to past budgets, there will likely be a notable absence of the direct costs of wars or large military campaigns liable to occur. In practice the Defense and Finance Ministries calculate such costs in retrospect, and only then do they explore funding sources. This article examines this issue and concludes that the costs of war and resulting damage to...

The INSS 12th annual international conference addressed the web of challenges and opportunities Israel faces at the start of 2019. As in previous years, we chose strategic issues from the different spheres – domestic, regional, and international – that make up Israel’s strategic reality, and examine these individually and in context of one another. Continuing a trend from our previous conferences, we approached Israel’s national security priorities critically from a variety of perspectives.

More than seven years after the Gaza flotilla incident, it appears that the legal handling of the matter by the ICC has come to an end. On November 30, 2017, Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda submitted her final decision, confirming her decision of 2014 not to open an investigation against Israel with respect to the “flotilla incident.” Together with this success, Israel faces a greater challenge from the Court – dealing with the preliminary examination taking place about the situation in “Palestine.” This includes an assessment of war...

In mid April 2017, Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke in the Knesset about the outbreak of Operation Protective Edge in 2014, contrary to the intentions and efforts of the government, and on Israel’s alternatives: the undesired political option (settlement with Hamas) and the military option not chosen (occupation of Gaza). The remarks take on particular relevance in view of today’s rapidly growing pressures in the Gaza Strip, and the increasing danger of a renewed outbreak of hostilities, which Israel does not want. In the...

On February 28, 2017, the State Comptroller’s Office issued its report on Operation Protective Edge. Nearly two-thirds of the report is devoted to the tunnels, an emphasis disproportionate to the real weight of the threat in the overall campaign and in related trends. In contrast, there is a glaring absence – both in the report and in the public debates surrounding it – of fundamental components of national security in the context of the operation. Based on the Comptroller’s report, i.e., what it contains but especially what it...

Operation Protective Edge (July 7-August 26, 2014) was the longest and most complex military challenge in a continuing cycle of violence between the State of Israel and Hamas since the organization’s inception in 1987. It is still too early to assess the achievements and the results of the military campaign, which are still not sufficiently clear for either side, and to determine whether Israel succeeded in achieving its primary aim of establishing longterm deterrence. Throughout the campaign, Hamas used all its capabilities,...