Israeli War Objectives into an Era of Negativism

Abstract

Israeli war objectives since the 1970s have gradually become more‘defensive’ in nature. Four main factors have accounted for it: superpower constraints, difficulty in gaining public legitimization for war, the peace process, and the spread of surface-to-surface missiles in the Middle East. At the same time, Israel has gradually withdrawn from its unequivocal commitment to the achievement of battlefield decision, putting more emphasis on the achievement of the political war objectives. The main reasons for this have been the strengthening of firepower relative to maneuver on the battlefield, the difficulty in translating battlefield decision to political achievements, and the growing political constraints on the freedom of action on the battlefield.