The public that voted for the establishment of the new government headed by Netanyahu, these days expects much more from the change of leadership.
He longs for a new gospel and a new way.
In the professional ranks, on the other hand, as in the security systems, there is an expectation - even if it is not openly stated - that the new ministers will be able to continue the main outlines of the previous policy.
They justify this expectation as arising from the necessity of the circumstances which dictates them to stick to the familiar track, as a "professional orientation" which also obliges the newly elected political echelon.
Thus, for example, Major General (Res.) Tamir Hayman described the recommended outlines for the new government's direction in his article: "The Security Challenges of the New Government" ("Israel Hayom", 6.11.22).
On all the fundamental issues: the Iranian nuclear threat, the uprising in the Palestinian arena in the West Bank, the problem of the loss of governance and coordination circles with the American administration - Heman expressed "professional expectation" for the continuation of the strategic outline in which the outgoing government operated. The government and in the government offices, in their success in portraying their strategic-political position as based on a professional assessment, "free of political bias".
Compared to the powers of government ministers in other democratic countries, Israeli government ministers are found to have more difficulty than others in imposing their policies on the professional clerical level.
This is, for example, what Minister Ayelet Shaked experienced at the Ministry of the Interior.
Already at the beginning of her position, she recognized the planning discrimination that has limited the development of Jewish rural settlement in the Galilee and Negev in recent decades.
However, despite her efforts, she was unable to overcome the objections of legal counsel and officials of the planning authorities to the implementation of her policy.
Similar administrative processes have so far blocked the establishment of the city of Kasif in the Negev, which was decided upon by three governments: the Olmert government in 2007, the Netanyahu government in 2011, and the Bennett government in 2022.
With the power of the permit given by the officials, the planning authorities, the Israel Land Authority and the Ministry of Finance succeeded in "professionally" blocking the government's decisions to establish the city of Kasif, as well as the establishment of the new settlements in the Negev.
With the entry of a new government, it is worth mentioning the obvious:
Not the 51st state
In regards to the main aspects of the security concept, the new defense minister and the prime minister will be required to re-examine the coordination system with the American government.
In contrast, former senior officials in the Israeli security systems repeat and emphasize how much the Israeli government has no room for maneuver in this area.
In the past six months, with regard to the construction plans in the settlement in Yosh, outgoing Defense Minister Benny Gantz avoided convening the Supreme Planning Council (SPC) in the Civil Administration, apparently in response to an American dictate.
Now, after many years of a slowdown in construction in the West Bank, and in view of the security needs and the needs of the housing crisis in the coastal strip, the time has come for a construction boom in all areas of Area C. Construction in these areas is in line with the principles of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's approach to the Oslo Accords, and does not harm the Palestinian option To establish a governmental entity in all areas A and B, where the majority of the Palestinian population is concentrated.
It is appropriate to re-examine the dimensions of the State of Israel's dependence on American security aid, which from an economic point of view can exist without it, especially when it has degenerated to a considerable extent the Israeli armaments industry
The incoming Prime Minister Netanyahu is surely familiar with the full range of coordination at the points of interface with the Americans, in the entirety of the actions of the Israeli government.
However, the voters of the new government expect it to establish a new point of balance in its conduct against the expectations of the administration in Washington.
The Israeli security system is locked in this area on a track that has been fixed to the point of being perceived as a "professional necessity".
For those who dare to reflect and challenge the degree of enslavement the State of Israel has fallen into, in its devotion to American expectations, they will mention the security aid grant and the political dependence on American patronage in the international arena.
However, it is certainly appropriate to re-examine the dimensions of the State of Israel's dependence on American security aid, which from an economic point of view can exist without it, especially when it degenerates to a considerable extent the Israeli armaments industry and places limitations on the realization of essential national interests.
The governance challenge
The problem of governance, which has become a burning national challenge, has two intertwined dimensions.
The first dimension is focused on the routine of daily life, given all over the country, and especially in the Galilee and Negev, the threats of crime are increasing.
The second dimension is focused on the potential of a nationalist uprising, and carries the nature of a security threat, to the point of erupting in time of war into a demanding combat arena.
Both dimensions of the threat require a special preparation of the security systems for routine and emergency challenges.
The outgoing government admittedly recognized the essential need to establish a dedicated reserve force for the defense of the interior, but it was reduced to the establishment of three to four brigades of the MGB in reserve, which are certainly an important addition to the existing order of forces, but they are not subject to immediate activation on a local basis. The process of recruiting and organizing them at the base Emergency services in the center of the country will take more than a day, and their arrival at the scene of the operation requires transportation on roads that may be blocked.
In parallel with these forces, a force building is required in the traditional logic of "spatial defense", as an immediate protective force on a local basis.
This requires a large-scale reserve force - about one hundred thousand soldiers in regional force associations, quickly activated near the places of residence.
Outgoing Defense Minister Benny Gantz opposed the establishment of some kind of armed popular force, fearing the establishment of militias whose actions would not be able to be controlled during an emergency.
However, the potential of the threat in this area shows a vital need, and the familiar arrangement format for recruiting for active reserve service provides an infrastructure for the operation of the local forces under a well-defined chain of command.
In the definition of the fundamental concepts in the IDF doctrine, the concept of national security is defined as being required for the "protection of national existence and vital national interests". Even the experts do not understand enough that when a government is changed, the national vital interests are also re-examined and redefined. Accordingly, it is written there that "the vital national interests are determined by the administration in power according to its worldview... in the prevailing or predicted circumstances."
In this logic, the world view shared by the leadership of the new government should establish a new view of the essential national interests that must be secured, and the conditions for their existence must be protected.
To this end, a reorganization of the government authorities and the security systems is required in all areas of implementation, including the fundamental issues of security and settlement.
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