In its annual strategic assessment, the Institute for National Security Studies has rated the internal crisis in Israel as one of the three leading threats to the resilience of the State of Israel.
The institute’s report, headed by former intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin and presented today (Wednesday) to President Reuven (Ruby) Rivlin, reads: It may undermine the foundations of national security in the broadest sense, as it leads to the weakening of the state’s mechanisms and institutions and manifests itself in difficulties in functioning, paralysis in decision-making processes, declining public trust in institutions and a lack of solidarity and common goal among Israeli society.
Demonstrations in Balfour against Netanyahu (Photo: Reuters)
At the beginning of the strategic assessment, the institute’s researchers claim that at the beginning of 2021, Israel is a strong country with impressive military, political, technological and economic power, despite the corona crisis. At the same time, the authors of the assessment add that Israel is a fragmented society suffering from an internal crisis that the Corona plague has flooded and exacerbated, along with the security challenges that will continue to accompany Israel even after the virus has passed.
As in strategic assessments in recent years, the Institute for National Security Studies states that although Israel’s enemies are wary of a war against it, there may still be security incidents that will lead to an unplanned escalation.
At the top of the ranking of security threats, the Institute for National Security Studies places the threat in the northern arena, also known as the First Northern War. This is a scenario in which a parallel confrontation could develop with Iran, Hezbollah, the Syrian regime and pro-Iranian militias, as well as attacks from western Iraq.
The institute’s researchers claim that this threat should be the main attribute of the IDF’s readiness for war, when the corona crisis did not reduce the severity of the threat. The report also states that the presence of hundreds of missiles is accurate by the Iranian axis and in particular by Hezbollah And to paralyze vital, military and civilian systems in the home front – is a strategic threat that the State of Israel must formulate a strategy to stop its development.
Under the second threat, the institute placed Iran’s nuclear program. According to the institute, the urgency of the threat in 2021 is considered lower in the ranking of threats, but its potential severity for the future is the highest.
The report also states that despite the blows it has suffered, Iran continues to pose the most serious threat to Israel’s security. The institute emphasizes the importance of coordination and dialogue with the new administration, and at the same time recommends that Israel return a reliable offensive option against Iran if it decides to break into the bomb.
President Rivlin said upon receiving the report that “there is an urgent need to restore trust between the citizens of Israel and the state. A trust that has been severely damaged in the past year, perhaps even fatally. “
Rivlin added that “this is my fourth and final election in two years and my last as president. Israeli society will urgently need a stable, functioning government that will deal first and foremost with the rehabilitation of the economy, the social gaps and the great rift in Israeli society. “.