Israel’s military outlines its defense strategy

The Israel Defense Forces last week released, for the first time in 60 years, a document outlining the country’s defense strategy.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot’s decision to make the document public affords a glimpse into Israel’s official defense doctrine for the first time since the Jewish state’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, approved the principles of the military’s strategy in the 1950s. 

In the introduction to the document, Eizenkot states that the military’s operational strategy is based on the “security triangle”—a term coined by Ben-Gurion—comprising the elements of “deterrence,” “early warning,” and “decisive victory,” with the addition of a new dimension labeled as “defense.”

A military source told Israel Hayom that while the 33-page document is titled “IDF Strategy,” its outline represents the “Eizenkot doctrine.” Eizenkot’s plan has yet to be approved by the Israeli government, and some of its aspects contradict the recently proposed “Locker report,” which suggests extensive cuts in defense spending.

“IDF Strategy” reviews changes the military has already undergone as well as plans it will implement in the future to meet the challenges posed by Middle East dynamics. Some of the changes include improving the effectiveness of ground maneuvers and enhancing the IDF’s cyber capabilities.

Eizenkot explains that the new strategy is based on the understanding that the conventional and unconventional first-circle threats Israel faces—meaning threats looming on its borders—are decreasing, while the threats posed by terrorist organizations, projectile fire, and cyberattacks are increasing.

The first principle outlined in the document is “relying on a defensive security strategy” that strives “to ensure Israel’s existence, generate effective deterrence, defer conflict and, if necessary, neutralize threats.”

Defeating the enemy solely via defensive tactics is impossible, the document states.