IDF reveals defense strategy for first time in 60 years
(JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday released, for the first time in 60 years, a document outlining Israel’s defense strategy.
In the introduction to the 33-page document, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot states that the military’s basic operational strategy is based on the “security triangle”—comprising the elements of “deterrence,” “early warning,” and “decisive victory,” with the addition of the new dimension of “defense.”
The strategy has yet to be approved by the Israeli government. A military source told Israel Hayom that while the document is titled “IDF Strategy,” its outline represents the “Eizenkot doctrine.”
The document reviews the changes the IDF has undergone and plans to implement in the future, to meet the challenges posed by Middle East dynamics. Some of the changes include improving the effectiveness of ground maneuvers, enhancing the IDF’s cyber capabilities, and preserving clear intelligence advantage and air and maritime operational superiority.
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 of the national security strategy outlined in the brief is “relying on a defensive security strategy,” which strives “to ensure Israel’s existence, generate effective deterrence, defer conflict and, if necessary, neutralize threats.”
The principles of military offensive are also outlined, stating that the IDF’s basic operational premise is that defeating the enemy solely via defensive tactics is impossible. Another principle notes the importance of strategic cooperation, including bolstering defense ties with the U.S., and fostering strategic ties with other key countries.
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Minister Danny Danon named Israel’s next ambassador to U.N.
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Friday that Science, Technology and Space Minister Danny Danon is slated to become Israel’s new ambassador to the United Nations.
Danon has been a Knesset member for the Likud party since 2009 and chairs the Likud Central Committee. He will be replacing outgoing Ambassador Ron Prosor and is expected to begin his new role in the fall.
“The United Nations is an important platform at this time, and I am sure that Danny will fight with all his might to present the truth in the international arena,” Netanyahu said.
Danon—a former deputy defense minister who is known to be unafraid to speak his mind—said, “I will do everything possible to promote Israel’s positions to the world.”
The U.N. has a longstanding reputation of bias against Israel, particularly regarding its disproportionate amount of resolutions targeting the Jewish state.
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Israeli Arabs from Jerusalem, Ramla indicted for trying to join Islamic State
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Two Israeli Arab men—eastern Jerusalem resident Feras Sheritach and Ramla resident Hamis Adnan Hamis Salame—have been accused of traveling to Turkey with plans to join the Islamic State terror group.
The Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office filed an indictment against Sheritach, 18, accusing him of flying to Turkey to cross from there into Syria and join the terrorist organization as a combatant or in a combat support role. Sheritach has been living in the U.S. in recent years.
Israel’s Central District Court will hold a hearing on Sept. 2 at the request of Salame’s attorney to discuss his case. Salame, 21, was arrested following a joint investigation by the Shin Bet security agency and the Israel Police’s central investigative unit. The court agreed to send Salame to the prison parole board to determine a potential alternative to detention while he awaits trial.
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Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport sees record-breaking single-day passenger travel
(JNS.org) An all-time-record number of passengers passed through Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday.
According to the Israel Airports Authority, about 80,000 passengers flew on about 457 incoming and outgoing flights, making it the busiest day ever at Israel’s main airport, Globes reported. The Airports Authority also forecasts that August will be a new record month for travel through Ben Gurion Airport, with more than 2 million passengers arriving and departing on international flights.
Additionally, Israeli airport passenger travel in July was up 20 percent, and the total number of flights was up 10 percent compared with the same month last year—which came during the Israel-Hamas war.
The European Union’s 2013 “open skies” agreement with Israel, which paved the way for more flights and cheaper prices, likely contributed to the record-setting showing at Ben Gurion Airport.
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Israel proposes offering Palestinians 3G mobile phone network capability
(JNS.org) Israeli has proposed the opening of a new 3G mobile phone network for Palestinians living in the disputed territories.
A spokesman in Israel’s Communications Ministry said that contingent on Palestinians meeting some Israeli conditions, the Jewish state will allocate more radio frequencies to the disputed territories. This will allow the Palestinian mobile operators Paltel and Wataniya to move from 2G to 3G network technology.
Palestinian Minister of Telecommunication Allam Mousa called the proposal a “breakthrough.”
“In the last meeting, some proposals were made in accordance with our demands and some amendments were made that could be studied, and that could enable us to achieve our demands,” Mousa told Reuters.
“So far there is no final agreement—it is only another round—but this round has achieved a bigger achievement than previous rounds [of talks on the issue],” he said.
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Naming of ex-Italian politician as Israeli envoy in Rome sparks dual-loyalty fears
(JNS.org) Italian Jews are expressing concern over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appointment of Jewish journalist and former Italian parliament member Fiamma Nirenstein as the new Israel ambassador in Rome, fearing that Nirenstein’s position will be used as evidence by those who claim that Italian Jews are more loyal to Israel than to Italy.
Nirenstein, who made aliyah in 2013, will need to renounce her Italian citizenship in order to accept the diplomatic position. At the same time, Nirenstein’s cousin is a parliament member of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s party and is running in the Milan mayoral elections, while her son works in the Italian intelligence service. These factors have served to further increase concerns by the Italian Jewish community.
“Netanyahu has turned us into a fifth column in our country,” one Jewish official said in a closed forum, Yedioth Ahronoth reported. “If a former Italian parliament member, a Jew, becomes Israel’s ambassador, it basically means that we recognize the fact that each of us, and every store we own, is in fact Israeli. People will think we have dual loyalty, and this holds disastrous consequences.”
Rome Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni was quoted by the Italian newspaper La Stampa as saying, “Fiamma is an excellent journalist, period… but I’m concerned there will be problems.”
Another member of the Jewish community, who remained anonymous in the La Stampa report, took a harsher tone.
“Over the years, the Jew is always suspected of being a traitor to his country. Placing her in Italy, on the other side of the table, could harm Italian Jews’ identity. The absolute majority of them are Zionists, but they’re also citizens with all the rights and duties. It’s not something to be trifled with,” he said.
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