IDF’s Strategy for Defending Israel

November 9, 2015

The navy, airforce and infantry work in cooperation to protect Israel. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot has released a document highlighting the changing threats facing Israel and the IDF’s evolving approaches in dealing with them. Entitled “IDF Strategy,” the 30-page document offers the public its first glimpse into the IDF’s defense doctrine in over half a century.

The document clearly states the goals that drive the IDF, The Times of Israel reported. These include “securing the existence of the State of Israel, keeping its values as a Jewish and democratic home for the Jewish people, safeguarding a robust society and economy, and strengthening Israel’s status in the world.”

The document then highlights the main actors threatening these goals. They not only include countries like Iran, Lebanon and a teetering Syria, but also non-state agents like Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and ISIS.

According to Eizenkot, the strategy document is geared towards equipping the army for any possible situation that the future may hold, including a scenario where Israel is forced to operate on various battlefronts simultaneously. It also warns against the threat of kidnapping, cyber-attacks, international legal battles and various other non-conventional methods of warfare.

To date, the document reveals, the IDF’s main focus has been on preparing its forces for traditional warfare, involving a nation facing another nation on the battlefield. Israel’s immediate threats do, however, require equipping its army for dealing with an altogether different enemy: stateless terror organizations, known for their tactics of “spreading out and assimilation into the civilian-populated areas to impede the IDF’s fighting ability.”

Above all, the document reveals a deep realization of the responsibility that Israel’s army carries. “The IDF has always drawn its strength from the quality of its personnel and the deep understanding that the military guarantees Israel’s national existence,” the strategy states.

“The IDF will spare no effort to defend and protect Israel under any circumstances, while exhausting the core characteristics of its commanders and soldiers: a fighting spirit, initiative and quality operation, and the uncompromising desire to achieve our objectives.”

Source: By Ilse Posselt, Bridges for Peace

Photo Credit: Flickr/IDF