Army's Influence on Israel's Political and Decision-Making System

This article argues that although critical thinkers such as Yoram Peri, Oren Barak, and Gabriel Sheffer point to the independence and influence of Israel's army in the civil area, they disregard large parts of these interferences, which results in ignoring key issues in the relations between the Zionist regime's government and army. Israel's army exerts influence on the government and civil society organizations through four major ways: providing the government with political advice and strategic intelligence, shaping the public opinion in Israel, the army ruling over the occupied territories under the pretext of fighting against the Palestinian intifada, and military officers assuming the most important posts in the political arena. This article brings this issue into the spotlight that although Israel's army has failed in certain periods to advance its agenda, it exerts profound influence on the regime's policies by using various mechanisms.