Strategic Assessment

“The resistance” in the Middle East is represented by states and non-state organizations, with or without a national or semi-state dimension. Its current objectives are a yearning for an alternate world order in the spirit of radical Islam, eradication of Western influence in the region, and most importantly, an unrelenting struggle against Israel until it is annihilated. The rise of the resistance reflects a fundamental shift in the nature of the threats Israel faces, to the extent that Israel is obligated to undertake changes in its use of military force and in its definition of national security. The article describes the evolution of this challenge at a time when there is a gradual decrease in state threats in the form of conventional military forces, which constituted Israel’s primary challenge during the first decades of its existence.