Israel’s Security Barrier: A Political Ruse in the Guise of Security

The security barrier between Israel and the West Bank constitutes one of the most prolonged and expensive projects Israel has ever carried out, and its adverse implications for Israel’s future borders are of profound significance. The massive crossing of the barrier in recent weeks by West Bank Palestinians offers an opportunity to open the eyes of the public to its real function as a dangerous political ruse in the guise of security.

The West Bank’s Status Quo is More Dangerous than Applying Sovereignty

Contrary to the alarming charge that the application of sovereignty over parts of the West Bank would transform Israel into a binational state, doing so would not affect 95% of the West Bankers who have been living under the rule of the Palestinian Authority since January 1996. They will continue to do so. The move does entail political risks, but they are smaller than the security hazards that would accompany Israel’s inability to maintain a permanent security presence in the Jordan Valley.

A Historic Opportunity That Must Be Seized

Regardless of the ambiguities and open questions attending President Trump’s “Deal of the Century,” Israel clearly stands at a historic juncture and must decide what to make of this one-time opportunity. About such moments it is said: “There are those who gain the world in a single moment and there are those who lose the world in a single moment.”

The Jordan Valley Is Not Up for Negotiation

The Jordan Valley, in its full scope and broadest definition, is essential to Israel's national security. Its retention by Israel requires not only military deployment but a comprehensive development plan—i.e., the construction of housing, roads, and infrastructure—that will establish this territory as Israel’s eastern wing.

Israeli Civil Defense: A Critical Tactic, but a Poor Strategy

Civil defense is a critical tactic that reduces civilian casualties during wartime. However, it is insufficient as a strategy with which to defeat an enemy. Israel has shifted in its use of civil defense from a protective tactic while the IDF achieves battlefield victory to a strategy of restraint that allows the enemy to launch attacks that cause few if any lethal casualties without fear of a devastating response. This is a dangerous development.

Israel Faces Unprecedented Security Threats

The unprecedented convergence of strategic threats now taking shape under Iran’s inspiration and guidance requires the IDF to adopt a new operational approach without delay (including a reorganization and a suitable buildup) and the Israeli public to prepare for the emergency situations attending these new emergent threats.

Security Tasks Awaiting the Next Israeli PM

The next Israeli government will have to make critical decisions on urgent security challenges stemming from multiple arenas simultaneously. It will also have to waste no time in securing the next defense budget.

Israeli security