Internal Threats to Israel: A Growing Strategic Concern
A new strategic threat is developing within Israel's borders, distinct from external dangers like Iran and Hezbollah. This internal threat stems from a convergence of factors within Israel's Arab population: a hostile national identity, Islamist infrastructure, and illegal weapons held by criminal organizations. While not all Arab citizens of Israel are a threat, the article warns against dismissing concerns within the Arab community as purely social issues unrelated to national security.
The article highlights that a significant portion of Arab Israelis identify with Palestinian nationalism, but this does not automatically make them enemies of the state. However, the situation becomes problematic when this national identity translates into political identification with groups in conflict with Israel or leads to anti-state organizing. Data suggests that most Arab Israelis believe it's possible to be both Palestinian and loyal to Israel, but a vocal minority poses a potential risk.
Examples of this growing threat include the outlawing of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement and related "Afsha' al-Islam" committees, which allegedly spread the movement's ideology in educational institutions. The article also points to the vast accumulation of illegal weapons by criminal organizations within the Arab community, including automatic weapons and explosives, which the Knesset itself has labeled a strategic threat. The concern is that these existing criminal and organizational infrastructures, combined with potential ideological triggers, could create a dangerous internal force.
The "Guardian of the Walls" operation in May 2021 served as a warning, demonstrating how quickly conflict with Hamas in Gaza could spill over into widespread unrest within Israel. Thousands of Arab citizens participated in riots, leading to arrests, injuries, deaths, and significant property damage. The article argues that a future, multi-front war could exacerbate these internal issues, especially with hundreds of thousands of illegal weapons and armed criminal organizations in play.
To counter this, the state must proactively build comprehensive intelligence on potential internal threats, including extremist Islamist elements, funding sources, armed criminal groups, weapon caches, and smuggling routes. Enhanced law enforcement is crucial to assert state authority over areas dominated by criminal or tribal power, with continuous enforcement rather than sporadic operations. Finally, a national plan is needed for wartime scenarios, focusing on securing key infrastructure, Jewish communities in mixed cities, and strategic sites, while clearly defining threat lines based on actions and affiliations rather than identity.
