Knesset passes law requiring government to set a national security policy
Bipartisan legislation mandates formulation of strategy in consultation with ministries, intelligence agencies and other government bureaus, saying lack of doctrine helped enable Oct. 7
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
A law requiring the government to formulate a national security policy passed its third and final reading 19-0 in the Knesset on Tuesday.
The bipartisan bill — sponsored by opposition National Unity MK Gadi Eisenkot and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein (Likud) — requires the National Security Council to formulate a national security strategy in consultation with the foreign and defense ministries, intelligence agencies, and other government bureaus.
In the bill’s explanatory notes, Edelstein and Eisenkot assert that a lack of an explicit security doctrine in favor of unwritten rules has damaged the country’s preparations and readiness in the face of threats, paving the way for the events of October 7, 2023, when Hamas led a devastating invasion of southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, while 251 were abducted as hostages to the Gaza Strip.
The strategy — which will have to be approved by the government within 150 days of its formulation and be updated regularly — will identify Israel’s national security challenges and establish its strategic goals, and provide a “critical assessment” of the existing national security strategy.
“The law was also born against the backdrop of the lessons from the October 7 attack, which radically clarified the lack of a national security concept,” said Eisenkot, declaring that the legislation aims to keep Israel “strong and powerful in a way that ensures the existence of the state forever.”
On the morning of the October 7 attack, Hamas led some 5,600 terrorists to burst into the country, overwhelming forces along the border with Gaza as well as local community security teams. Terrorists rampaged for hours, massacring those they found, including hundreds at an outdoor music festival, until the IDF could mount an effective response.
In the wake of the attack, media reports and official probes found that in the years and months leading up to the attack intelligence and surveillance information indicated that Hamas could launch a major assault, but it was largely ignored due to what has been dubbed the “concept” — the notion embraced by the government that Hamas was deterred from launching a large-scale attack due to fear of the consequences. By contrast, much attention had been given to the threat from the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, which was seen as a far more capable military force.
Senior security officials have admitted failure and many resigned, including IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevy. The head of the Shin Bet security service, Ronen Bar, has also said he will step down this month, citing personal responsibility for the agency’s failure to prevent the October 7 attack.
Spillover from the Gaza war has presented Israel with tactical challenges. Iran’s regional proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, groups in Iraq, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, all began attacking Israel in support of Gaza. Israel decimated Hezbollah and its leadership in a war that ended with a ceasefire in November. It also carried out reprisal bombing raids on Iran, which had fired hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel in two attacks last year, and on the Houthis, who have continued regular missile fire, most recently on Tuesday night. The Iran and Yemen raids tested Israel’s abilities to carry out long-range strikes that required mid-air refueling along the way.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has refused calls to establish a state commission of inquiry into the failures leading up to the Hamas attack and the handling of the ensuing war, saying such a panel should only be set up after the fighting ends. Israel’s military campaign aims to destroy Hamas, topple its Gaza regime, and free the hostages, of whom 54 remain in captivity, most believed to be no longer alive.
Polls have consistently shown an overwhelming majority of Israelis support a state commission of inquiry into October 7, including a survey in March that found 75 percent of Israelis back such a commission.
The Times of Israel Community.