The Arab-Israeli balance now consists of two subordinate balances: Israel versus Syria and Israel versus the Palestinians. This book analyzes these two balances and their impact on defense planning in each country and on the overall strategic risk to the whole region. It covers military developments in each of six states--Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine--and provides and analytical view of how the changing natures of the military and political threats faced by each is impacting its military force readiness and development. The roles of Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are analyzed in light of the changing political landscape in both Israel and Palestine. Finally, the book explores the ways that internal instability in Lebanon could escalate into regional conflict.--Publisher's description.

This volume examines the status of the Palestinian citizens in Israel and explores ethnic privileging and the dynamics of social conflict.

In Civil-Military Relations in Israel, Yehuda Ben Meir examines the reasons preventing Israel from becoming a "garrison state". A former deputy minister for foreign affairs and longtime member and analyst of the Israeli political scene, Ben Meir is uniquely qualified to give a behind-the-scenes picture of the intimate relationship between Israel's civilian and military leaders. Civil-Military Relations in Israel examines the changing face of the military over the years from an idealistic defense force to a professional army. Ben Meir also views the great divisiveness in Israeli politics as a threat to the unified strength of purpose that in the past characterized the nation's civil authority, and he examines present and future threats to continued civilian control of the military. The book also delves into the legal and constitutional foundations of Israel's civil-military relations, providing a valuable perspective on the organization and role of the current defense establishment, as well as the informal relationship between the key players in the system. In addition, Ben Meir pinpoints the areas in which the military is involved in key political decision making. Despite continuing efforts to resolve the pattern of violence and conflict in the Middle East, the long-standing hostility between Arab and Jew in the region is unlikely to disappear in the near future. And as long as such animosity lingers, Israel's military will remain a strong force in Israeli politics.

Arab-Israeli Military/Political Relations: Arab Perceptions and the Politics of Escalation examines the escalatory patterns of Israel's relations with Arab countries, paying particular attention to the preconditions, conditions, and ultimate precipitants of wars that have broken out with some repetitiveness in the Middle East. The impact of the October 1973 War (known as the Yom Kippur War in the West and the Ramadan War in Arab countries) on the United States interests in the Middle East is also assessed. This book is comprised of seven chapters and opens with an overview of the October War; those Arab states actually involved in the war, especially Egypt and Syria; and those Arab states having geographical access to either the Mediterranean or Indian Oceans, including the oil-producing states. The wider political and military implications of the war are discussed, with specific reference to super power interests. The following chapters discuss the perceptual context of Arab politics; the wars of 1967 and 1973 and the impact of Arab conflict imagery on an inherently escalatory situation; the consequences and lessons of the June 1967 war, or Six-Day War; and Arab coalition politics between 1970 and 1973. The final two chapters focus on the combined Egyptian-Syrian battle plan, code-named Operation Badr, and the historical and political implications of the 1973 war. This monograph will be of interest to diplomats, policymakers, and government officials concerned with the politics of war and in international relations more generally.

A scathing and brilliant revisionist history, Defending the Holy Land is the most comprehensive analysis to date of Israel's national security and foreign policy, from the inception of the State of Israel to the present. Book jacket.

This new book looks at the relationship between the Israeli armed forces, the government, and the origins of the 1967 War. Ami Gluska discusses the effect of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Israel’s defense policy between 1963-1967 against the backdrop of the developments in the Middle East. In addition, he describes in detail the decision-making process leading to the Arab-Israeli Six Day War in June 1967 through the prism of the relations between the military and political echelons. He shows how the Six Day War was a watershed event in the Middle-Eastern conflict and had a profound effect on the development of the Palestinian problem and the character of the State of Israel over the past four decades. This book will be of great interest to students of Middle Eastern politics, strategic studies, Israeli politics and military history in general.