The Challenges Facing the Israel Defense Forces, 2015–2016

The challenges facing the Israel Defense (IDF) Forces (IDF) in the foreseeable future are composed of three main factors. The first is Israel’s rapidly changing strategic environment. The nuclear deal between Iran and the superpowers and the subsequent lifting of the sanctions against Iran constitute a strategic turning point for the IDF’s major threat over the past decade. The crumbling of the old order in the Middle East, existing since the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, as well as the weakening of the state framework over the past four to five years illustrate the region’s instability, which will continue to characterize it for many years to come. In addition, the phenomenon of the Islamic State and global jihad has become a major moving force in the Middle East. The IDF’s General Staff began discussing this challenge in late 2013 and early 2014, and since then it has continued to develop.