IMRA Middle East News Updates

(English translation) Israel's National Security Concept

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 02:58:59 -0400

(English translation) Israel's National Security Concept

Government Press Office:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Issues Israel's National Security Doctrine
to the Public

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Sunday, 18 October 2026)
[translated from Hebrew]:

""The October 7, 2023 attack compelled Israel to wage a fierce war. Through
continuous combat - from Gaza to Yemen, from Lebanon to Iran - Israel warded
off an imminent existential nuclear threat and removed the chokehold of the
Iranian axis. The Government and the Security Cabinet made well-considered
decisions, the IDF and security branches struck with immense force, and the
civilian home front stood firm.

The War of Redemption necessitated an upgrade of fundamental principles
within the traditional national security doctrine, among them: giving
priority to prevention and offense over containment and defense, including
launching preemptive strikes to thwart evolving threats; strengthening home
front defense against new threats; cementing Israel's status as a regional
power; building maximum independence in munitions; ensuring superiority in
the most advanced technologies; and intensifying the fight against global
waves of antisemitism. Concurrently, opportunities have been created for
forging new alliances in our region and beyond."

The Prime Minister's security doctrine was formulated with the assistance of
the National Security Council (NSC) and NSC Director Shmuel Ben Ezra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCpJ-reOuMk

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IMRA's Unofficial English translation of the original Hebrew document

Israel's National Security Concept

Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister

Jerusalem Cheshvan 5787 October 2026

Office of the Prime Minister - National Security Staff

The attack of 7 October 2023 compelled Israel to wage a fierce war. In
continuous fighting-from Gaza to Yemen, from Lebanon to Iran-Israel pushed
back the threat of imminent nuclear destruction and removed the strangling
noose of the Iranian axis. The government and the political-security cabinet
made informed decisions; the IDF and the security branches attacked with
force; and the civilian home front stood firm.

The War of Revival required a reassessment of fundamental principles in the
traditional concept of national security, among them: giving priority to
prevention and attack over containment and defense, including taking a
preemptive strike to thwart emerging threats; strengthening home-front
defense against new threats; establishing Israel's status as a regional
power; building maximum independence in armaments; ensuring superiority in
the most advanced technologies; strengthening the struggle against the waves
of global antisemitism. In parallel, opportunities emerged for establishing
new alliances in our region and beyond.

Principal Threats

Arenas:

The Shiite axis and the Muslim Brotherhood (AH"SI) axis

Convergence of hostile axes

Terrorism and internal security threats

Delegitimization and isolation from allies

Borders - northern, eastern and western

Armaments:

Nuclear weapons

Drones from within Israel and abroad

Precision missiles

Cyber, artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies

Illegal weapons in Israel

UAVs and drones

Armaments evolving at a rapid pace

Central Principles

Military superiority in capabilities - The State of Israel must always
remain one step ahead of its enemies. It must avoid containment of enemy
attacks and of the enemy's force buildup, ensure superiority in capabilities
against all its enemies, and not rely on the intentions of enemies and
friends, which may change in the blink of an eye.

1) Prevention of nuclear weapons - Including by proactive offensive action.

2) Deterrence - Establishing a credible threat by means of the capability
for precise and massive fire, and by thwarting and disrupting military and
civilian systems.

3) Early warning - Obtaining and maintaining a continuous and effective
intelligence picture of the enemy's capabilities and intentions, in a manner
that prevents surprise.

4) Initiative, stratagem, and a critical approach - Fostering these
principles in the IDF and all security branches, including readiness for a
surprise preemptive strike.

5) Defense - Stopping invasion at the borders, maintaining buffer zones as
needed, defending the home front against attacks from within Israel and
abroad, providing a response to a broad spectrum of threats, including
surprise attacks and drones, and maintaining constant readiness for war.

6) Alliances - Cultivating Israel's assets to promote regional and
international alliances.

7) Technology and independence in force buildup - Reducing dependence on
foreign parties; strengthening independent capabilities in force buildup,
research and development, and local production, and developing
superpower-level capabilities in critical technologies (quantum, artificial
intelligence, space, and others); significantly increasing the defense
budget.

8) Struggle to shape perceptions - Developing capabilities, including
artificial intelligence, to shape perceptions in the struggle against Iran
and other enemy states, and to combat anti-Zionism and antisemitism in the
international arena.

9) Victory - Breaking the enemy's strength and its belief in its ability to
constitute a real threat, by means of all the above principles.

10) The spirit of the people - National cohesion and agreement on
foundational principles, foremost among them: Israel as the nation-state of
the Jewish people, democratic government, readiness to fight for the
security of the state while striving for victory, encouragement of
independent thinking, settlement of the Land of Israel and cultivation of
Israel's heritage, maintaining ties with the Jewish diaspora and encouraging
aliyah.

________________________________________
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis

Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on
Arab-Israeli relations

Website: www.imra.org.il

Judicial Reform: The Tragedy of the "Goats" Netanyahu Could Not Remove

Sun, 18 Oct 2026 11:12:05 -0400

Judicial Reform: The Tragedy of the "Goats" Netanyahu Could Not Remove
Dr. Aaron Lerner 18.10.2026
https://youtu.be/LCcHacfJ_rk

In an interview with Kalman Liebskind published in Makor Rishon on 24
September 2026, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, in response to a
question about the judicial reform: "I am not going into the tactical
aspect, because I was legally barred from dealing with it."

These remarks deserve renewed examination in light of the events that shook
Israel in 2023.

It is precisely the word "tactical" that may be the key to understanding one
of the central failures in the management of the judicial reform.

It is possible that if Netanyahu had been permitted to manage the reform, a
significant portion of the public crisis that developed around it could have
been avoided. Not because he necessarily opposed the reform, but because he
had previously demonstrated the ability to change course sharply when he
concluded that circumstances required it.

In legislative processes, it is sometimes customary to include far-reaching
clauses known as "goats," with the intention of later removing them and
creating room for compromise.

In the case of the judicial reform, there is evidence that this is exactly
what was done.

In an article by Hilo Glazer published in the weekend magazine of Haaretz on
4 May 2023, under the headline "Extreme Pessimist, Ascetic, 'Snake in
Glasses': Who Is Yariv Levin, Really?", it was written:

"At the beginning of the process, Levin told associates that he never
intended for his plan to pass in its maximalist version, and admitted that
he had planted many goats in it. When he discovered that no one was willing
to 'talk' with him, he joked with his people that 'in the end the reform
will still pass as is.' Over time his mood darkened and he expressed to his
interlocutors genuine frustration at the feeling that on the other side
there was no one to talk to."

In other words, already in May 2023 it was published that the original
wording of the reform was not necessarily the wording Levin intended to pass
in the end. Some of the clauses were meant to serve as bargaining
chips-those "goats" that were supposed to come out during the negotiations.

However, in this case, instead of waiting for negotiations during which the
"goats" would be removed, the opposition turned the initial drafts into the
focus of public protest.

People who were not necessarily sworn opponents of the government read the
drafts as submitted and did not understand that this was a bargaining
exercise.

Thus the clauses intended as a means toward compromise became a central tool
for mobilizing opposition.

At that moment it was necessary to remove them unilaterally and present the
public with a revised version, but at the same time a dynamic developed
within Likud in which the initial drafts were increasingly presented as
positions from which one must not budge.

Instead of facilitating compromise, the "goats" became an obstacle on the
way to it.

Already on 18 June 2023, an article was published in IMRA calling on
Netanyahu to remove the "goats" and present the public with the reform
legislation without them, under the headline: "Mr. Netanyahu, Let the Public
See the Reform Legislation Without the Goats."

Yet according to his words in the interview, the prime minister was legally
barred from dealing with the management of the tactics.

That is the tragedy: not that the solution was unknown, but that the person
who might have implemented it was not permitted to do so.

We cannot know how things would have developed if Netanyahu had been free to
manage the reform, but it is worth re-examining the sequence of events and
the heavy price the State of Israel paid.

________________________________________
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis

Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on
Arab-Israeli relations

Website: www.imra.org.il

Haredi Knesset Candidate Compares Draft Evaders' Travel Restrictions to Holocaust

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 18:09:40 -0400

Haredi Knesset Candidate Compares Draft Evaders' Travel Restrictions to
Holocaust
16 October 2026

Elikim Stark, a United Torah Judaism Knesset candidate representing the Belz
Hasidic community, compared the situation of Haredi draft evaders subject to
travel restrictions to the Holocaust, according to a report by Shilo Fried
published by Ynet on 15 October 2026.

Speaking at an election campaign gathering in Beit Shemesh on Thursday
evening, Stark complained that Haredi men barred from leaving Israel because
of military draft orders cannot travel abroad to pursue potential marriage
matches (shidduchim), forcing the families of prospective brides overseas to
travel to Israel instead.

"When people want to arrange a marriage match abroad, they have to come here
because [we] cannot [leave the country]," Stark said, according to Ynet.

"I had resolved not to speak about Holocaust stories in the early years, but
I have no other way to describe it," he continued.

"Our situation is close to what it was during the Holocaust. It reminds me
of stories from our grandparents."

Stark, 34, recently replaced Deputy Minister Israel Eichler as the Belz
representative on the Agudat Israel electoral list, part of United Torah
Judaism. Eichler attended the gathering.

Source: Shilo Fried, Ynet, 15 October 2026, "The New Representative in
United Torah Judaism: 'Our Situation Is Close to What It Was During the
Holocaust.'"
https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/hkmhd2cjzl

________________________________________
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis

Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on
Arab-Israeli relations

Website: www.imra.org.il

Weekly Commentary: What Third World Country Missed Multiple Deadlines in Apache Deal? Israel

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 16:53:44 -0400

Weekly Commentary: What Third World Country Missed Multiple Deadlines in
Apache Deal? Israel
(Video https://youtu.be/ajIPvLHD-c4 )

Dr. Aaron Lerner 14 October 2026

This morning - October 14th - in a telephone vote, our Cabinet approved
allocating NIS 1.03 billion to bridge the funding gap for 12 Apache
helicopters.

Armed with the newly approved funding, the Defense Ministry instructed its
Washington delegation to sign the contract.

We missed an earlier ordering window in the summer and received further
extensions. We then failed to meet the final extended deadline of October
7th, prompting media reports that the deal was dead.

Defense Minister Israel Katz then instructed Defense Ministry
Director-General Major General (Res.) Amir Baram to contact the Pentagon
directly to secure another grace period.

The U.S. agreed on the strict condition that the contract be signed by the
end of the day on October 14th.

So what could have been done in a telephone vote in August was completed,
under the gun, in October.

And this is apparently only the tip of the iceberg of this farce, as reports
indicate that our earlier failure to lock a preferential place in Boeing's
production schedule may have pushed delivery later than the slot originally
targeted around 2030.

This is not "all's well that ends well."

It is hard to imagine that our repeated failures to meet deadlines did not
annoy our American counterparts, both in the government and at Boeing.

The final grace period, measured in hours, certainly suggests that American
patience was running thin.

But this goes beyond annoying the people we work with.

There are no free lunches - and no free favors.

And we just wasted a favor.

I am both embarrassed and disappointed.
________________________________________
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis

Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on
Arab-Israeli relations

Website: www.imra.org.il

Weekly Commentary: After McGurk Remarks Hostage Families Know Outcome Out Of Their Hands

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 10:37:08 -0400

Weekly Commentary: After McGurk Remarks Hostage Families Know Outcome Out Of
Their Hands
Dr. Aaron Lerner 9 October 2026
For video
https://youtu.be/R-65_x-EDnE?

Imagine your loved one is a Hamas hostage.
And various officials and ex-officials are telling you that the only thing
preventing their release is Binyamin Netanyahu.

So every day they remain hostages it is because you have failed to force
Netanyahu to change his mind.

And if they should die in captivity, it is because you failed, despite all
your efforts to force Netanyahu to free them in time.

The anguish.

And for those whose loved ones did not make it out - an ongoing sense of
guilt and frustration to live with for the rest of their lives.

Fortunately, "Inside the Hostage Negotiations - with Brett McGurk," Call Me
Back with Dan Senor, 4 October 2026, puts an end to all of this.

Because McGurk, President Biden's White House coordinator for the Middle
East, who was intimately involved in the negotiations from the first days
after the October 7 massacre through the January 2025 agreement makes it
clear that it was Hamas that was responsible - not Netanyahu.

And he is certainly no Netanyahu loyalist. He served an administration that
repeatedly clashed with Israel, at times even threatening to restrict arms
supplies.

Asked about reports that Hamas signaled shortly after the massacre that it
was ready to release all the hostages, McGurk dismissed the notion as
"complete bullshit."

McGurk said Hamas, and Yahya Sinwar in particular, believed the war would
end with Hamas still holding a number of hostages for years.

He said he had no doubt about that assessment.

McGurk also recounted that Netanyahu rejected an initial proposal
guaranteeing the release of 20 hostages. When McGurk suggested that the
negotiators might secure 30, Netanyahu insisted on demanding 50.

McGurk recalled Netanyahu telling him, "Brett, I need this deal. Help me get
it."

They ultimately secured the guarantee of 50.

That detail is worth remembering whenever someone suggests that Netanyahu
was simply uninterested in securing hostage releases.

McGurk recalled that Netanyahu accepted the detailed ceasefire proposal
presented by Biden at the end of May 2024, while Hamas failed to provide a
substantive response for almost five weeks.

The same fundamental problem became unmistakable at the end of August 2024.

The bodies of six murdered hostages were recovered from a tunnel in Rafah.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin was among them.

McGurk described bringing the list of their names into a White House meeting
and flinging it onto the table.

His conclusion was that there would be no hostage deal until Sinwar was
dead.

He later told freed hostages, including Keith Siegel, that he believed Hamas
had intended to hold captives for many years.

The January 2025 agreement, which brought additional living hostages home,
followed a fundamental change in the strategic situation.

Sinwar was dead. Hezbollah had suffered devastating military blows. Hamas's
regional position had deteriorated.

And the outgoing Biden team and Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, presented a
united front, with Trump warning of "hell to pay" if the hostages were not
released before his inauguration.

McGurk credited that cooperation as essential to securing the agreement.

He also offered a particularly important observation about public American
pressure on Israel.

Discussing the March 2024 United Nations Security Council resolution calling
for a Ramadan ceasefire, McGurk said it "played back extremely negatively in
the hostage talks."

He also criticized the public confrontation over Rafah.

His concern was that Sinwar, following the media from Rafah, could interpret
the growing rift between Washington and Jerusalem as a reason to hold out
rather than compromise.

In other words, public pressure on Israel could actually strengthen Hamas's
negotiating position.

That is an observation worth considering in the context of the campaign to
pressure Netanyahu into making additional concessions.

For three years, the hostage families were exposed to the argument that the
fate of their loved ones depended on persuading Netanyahu to change his
approach.

McGurk's testimony provides powerful grounds to question that proposition.

The hostage families now have an answer to the question which haunts them:
Could we have brought them home if only we had succeeded in changing
Netanyahu's approach?

McGurk's account gives them powerful reasons to believe that the answer is
no.
________________________________________
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis

Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on
Arab-Israeli relations

Website: www.imra.org.il

Weekly Commentary: Mr. Bennett - Flydubai FZ1073 Was A Miracle Which Hinged On Heroism

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 10:05:11 -0400

Weekly Commentary: Mr. Bennett - Flydubai FZ1073 Was A Miracle Which Hinged On Heroism
Dr. Aaron Lerner 1 October 2026

I was stunned to learn that, in an interview on The Faulkner Focus , Former PM Naftali Bennett said of the safe outcome of Flydubai FZ1073 "...it's not a miracle. It's called heroism".

Bennett knows better.

Because the requirement of human heroism to facilitate miracles goes to the very heart of the schism between Haredis who claim they would rather die than serve in the IDF and the rest of Israeli society.

We embrace the assertion of our sages that the Red Sea only parted when Nachshon bravely stepped into the waters.

We choose to exercise our privilege take an active role in our wonderous page - chapter - book - in this continuation of the Bible, confident that if we bravely face our challenges that divine intervention will reward our bravery.

Again: our sages don't claim that the sea split because Nachshon prayed. It split because he acted.

If the Haredi leadership today had called the shots, the sea would never have split, and the Egyptian army would have ended our Exodus in a massacre.

In many ways, the requirement of human action for miracles to take place is a core issue of our coming elections.

The Haredi parties think our defense, economy, and all other needs could be met by miracles which don't hinge on the extent of their active participation in these matters.

The Likud party acts as if miracles will continue to make it possible to indefinitely postpone taking measures so that the growing Hareidi sector participates in our defense, economy, and all other needs at the levels required to sustain the nation.

And there are those in the Left who think that a miracle would make it possible for the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state to herald peace for generations to come.

Heroes did indeed save the day on Flydubai FZ1073.

But as one goes through all the details, these were heroes participating in a miracle.
________________________________________
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis

Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on
Arab-Israeli relations

Website: www.imra.org.il