GEOGRAPHY
Size: About 20,700 square kilometers. Occupied territories comprise
additional 7,477 square kilometers: West Bank, 5,879; Gaza Strip, 378;
East Jerusalem, annexed in July 1980, 70; and Golan Heights, annexed in
December 1981, 1,150.
Topography: Four general areas: coastal plain--fertile, humid,
and thickly populated--stretches along Mediterranean Sea; central highlands
including Hills of Galilee in north with country's highest elevation at
Mt. Meron (1,208 meters), and arid Judean Hills in south; Jordan Rift Valley
with lowest point (399 meters below sea level) at Dead Sea; and Negev Desert,
which accounts for about half Israel's area.
TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Roads: 13,410 kilometers of roads in 1985, providing relatively
dense network.
Railroads: 528 kilometers of state-owned railroads in 1988 linking
major centers of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beersheba, and Ashdod.
Ports: Haifa most important, handling about 55 percent of foreign
trade in 1985, excluding bulk oil transport. Ashdod and Elat (Red Sea)
other major cargo ports. Oil terminals at Elat and near Ashqelon; coal
terminal at Hadera.
Airports: International airport at Lod; smaller airport at Elat.
Pipelines: Elat to near Ashqelon for crude oil for ongoing shipment;
branch leads to Ashdod and Haifa refineries and to consumption centers,
including Elat, for petroleum products.
Communications: Modern, developed system with good connections
via cable and three ground satellite stations to rest of world. In FY 1986
about 1.9 million telephones. In late 1980s, Israel a demand for more telecommunications
services than it was able to provide.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Government: Republic and parliamentary democracy headed by president,
titular head of state. Executive power wielded by prime minister and cabinet
ministers representing dominant political blocs in Knesset, to which they
are collectively responsible. Knesset is unicameral parliament of 120 members
elected at-large every four years as a rule by direct secret ballot and
under system of proportional representation; voting for party lists rather
than individual candidates. Electoral system remains object of political
reform. Government system based on no comprehensive written constitution
but nine Basic Laws enacted by Knesset. Efforts to introduce constitution
delineating principle of separation of powers and establishing supremacy
of civil law and secular bill of rights have so far met resistance. Judiciary
independent and comprises secular, religious, and military courts. Integrity
and performance of governmental system checked by independent and influential
ombudsman, Office of the State Comptroller.
Politics: Multiparty system divided into four main categories:
left-of-center parties, right-of-center parties, rightwing religious parties,
and Arab parties. Inconclusive twelfth Knesset election held in November
1988 repeated pattern of 1984 Knesset elections with neither major party
able to form cohesive coalition government without other's equal participation.
This resulted in formation of National Unity Government. Long-term electoral
trends, however, indicated upswing in support for rightof -center parties.
Administrative Divisions: Divided into six administrative districts
and fourteen subdistricts under ultimate jurisdiction of Ministry of Interior.
Occupied territories of West Bank and Gaza Strip and annexed Golan Heights
administered by Israel Defense Forces.
Foreign Affairs: Foreign policy chiefly influenced by Israel's
strategic situation, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and rejection of Israel
by most Arab states. Diplomatic relations established with Egypt following
1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, and Israel maintained de facto peaceful
relationship with Jordan. General consensus in Israel over terms of 1978
Camp David Accords, but disagreement over principle of exchanging land
for peace, particularly over West Bank, and direct negotiations with Palestine
Liberation Organization.
The Army
The Israeli government did not disclose information on the overall size
of the IDF, or the identity, location, and strength of units. In 1988 the
International Institute for Strategic Studies in London estimated the strength
of the ground forces at 104,000 troops, including 16,000 career soldiers
and 88,000 conscripts. An additional 494,000 men and women were regularly
trained reserves who could be mobilized within seventy-two hours. The staffs
of each of the ground forces' three area commanders were divided into branches
responsible for manpower, operations, training, and supply. The authority
of the area commanders extended to the combat units and ground force bases
and installations located within their districts, as well as area defense,
including the protection of villages, especially those near the frontier.
During combat, area commanders also coordinated activities of naval and
air force units operating on fronts within their areas.
The army was organized into three armored divisions, each composed of
two armored and one artillery brigade, plus one armored and one mechanized
infantry brigade upon mobilization. An additional five independent mechanized
infantry brigades were available. The reserves consisted of nine armored
divisions, one airmobile mechanized division, and ten regional infantry
brigades for border defense. In practice, unit composition was extremely
fluid and it was common for subunits to be transferred, especially when
a particular battalion or brigade was needed in a combat zone far from
its regular divisional station.
The IDF did not organize permanent divisions until after the June 1967
War. As of 1988, their composition remained flexible, leading military
analysts to regard the brigade as the basic combat unit of the IDF. Brigade
commanders exercised considerable autonomy, particularly during battle,
following the IDF axiom that the command echelon must serve the assault
echelon.
Between 1977 and 1987, the IDF reconfigured its units as its tank inventory
grew, reducing the number of infantry brigades while increasing the number
of armored brigades from twenty to thirty-three upon mobilization. Although
maintained with a full complement of equipment, most of the armored brigades
were only at cadre strength.
The Israeli ground forces were highly mechanized. Their equipment inventory
included nearly 4,000 tanks and nearly 11,000 other armored vehicles .
Their armored personnel vehicles almost equaled in number those of the
combined armies of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The offensive profile of the
army was bolstered significantly by the artillery forces (principally self-propelled
and equipped with advanced fire control systems and high-performance munitions).
Antitank capabilities had been upgraded with modern rocket launchers and
guided missile systems.
As of 1988, most Israeli ground forces were positioned on the northern
and eastern border areas facing Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. After the Syrian
army shifted most of its troops out of Lebanon following the IDF withdrawal
in June 1985, more than six Syrian divisions were concentrated in the Golan-Damascus
area. The IDF responded by constructing several defensive lines of mines
and antitank obstacles in the Golan Heights, and by reinforcing its troop
strength there, mainly with regular armored and infantry units. Reserve
units training in the vicinity also could be mobilized in case of need.
Other ground forces were deployed in defending the Lebanese border against
infiltration.
Organization and Disposition
The IDF had no commander in chief designated as such. The Basic Law:
The Army, 1976, vested command in the government. In fact, the minister
of defense acted as the highest authority over the IDF and was its link
to civilian political authorities. The minister of defense was a civilian
(although usually a retired military officer). The cabinet was required
to give prior approval to major military policies and operations. Under
normal circumstances, the standing Foreign Affairs and Security Committee
of the cabinet exercised this responsibility. The invasion of Lebanon in
1982 demonstrated, however, that a domineering minister of defense could,
by misleading the cabinet or withholding information, act contrary to the
government's wishes. Periodic reports on the status of the military were
provided to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, through its Foreign Affairs
and National Security Committee and on budgetary matters through the Finance
Committee.
The highest ranking IDF officer, the only officer to hold the rank of
lieutenant general, was the chief of staff, who was chairman of the general
staff and was responsible to the minister of defense. The general staff
was in charge of "professional" matters, such as organization, training,
and the planning and execution of military operations. The chief of staff
in late 1988, Lieutenant General Dan Shomron, had held the position since
April 1987. He was appointed by the minister of defense for a term that
was nominally three years but that could be shortened or extended. Within
the Ministry of Defense, the senior civilian officer beneath the minister
was the director general, who supervised defense production, infrastructure,
the budget, and other administrative and technical matters. As the supreme
commander of the IDF, however, the minister of defense could intervene
in all IDF matters .
The general staff had as its members the chief of general staff branch
(operations), the chiefs of manpower, logistics, and intelligence; the
three area commanders; and the commanding officers of the air force, navy,
and ground corps. The ground corps commander was responsible for training,
doctrine, and development of equipment for the four combat corps of paratroop/infantry,
armor, artillery, and engineers. Operational control of the ground forces
went through a separate chain of command from the chief of staff directly
to the three area commanders--Northern (forces facing Syria and Lebanon);
Central (forces facing Jordan); and Southern (forces facing Egypt)--who
in turn exercised command over divisions and brigades.
The navy and air force were not, nor had ever been, designated as separate
services. Officially known as the Sea Corps (Hel Yam) and the Air Corps
(Hel Avir), the navy and air force, however, enjoyed more autonomy within
the IDF structure than their official designations would suggest. Their
commanders had the status of senior advisers to the chief of staff. Along
with the ground force area commanders, the commanders of the air force
and navy held two-star rank.
DEFENSE INDUSTRY AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Israel's more than 150 defense and defense-related firms (thousands
of other firms were engaged in subcontracting) fell into one of three ownership
categories: state-owned enterprises, privately owned firms, and firms with
mixed state and private ownership. One firm, Armament Development Authority,
commonly known as Rafael, was the main military research and development
agency responsible for translating the ordnance requirements of IDF field
units into development projects. Rafael had a unique status under the direct
supervision of the Ministry of Defense.
Total employment in the defense sector reached a peak of 65,000 persons
in the mid-1980s, more than 20 percent of the industrial work force. By
1988, however, retrenchment of the defense budget and shrinkage of the
world arms market had exposed the defense industry to severe financial
losses and layoffs that reduced the work force to about 50,000 employees.
The largest of the defense firms was the government-owned conglomerate,
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) that manufactured the Kfir and Arava aircraft,
the Ramta light armored car, Gabriel antiship missiles, and high-speed
patrol boats. IAI began in 1933 as a small machine shop, later catering
to the maintenance and upgrading of the motley collection of aircraft acquired
during the War of Independence. It continued to specialize in the overhaul
and retrofitting of the whole range of aircraft in the air force inventory.
Until the cancellation of the Lavi project in 1987, IAI had been entrusted
with the development of the advanced fighter aircraft.
The factories of Israel Military Industries (IMI), another government-owned
conglomerate, produced the Uzi submachinegun, the Galil rifle, explosives,
propellants, artillery shells, and light ammunition. IMI also specialized
in the upgrading and conversion of tanks and other armored vehicles. Tadiran
Electronic Industries was the largest private firm engaged in defense production,
notably communications, electronic warfare, and command and control systems,
as well as the pilotless reconnaissance aircraft of which Israel had become
a leading manufacturer. Soltam, another private firm, specialized in mortars
and artillery munitions.
Growth of the defense industry was achieved by a mixture of imported
technology and Israeli innovation. Israeli firms purchased production rights
and entered into joint ventures with foreign companies to manufacture both
end products and components. Nearly every electronics firm had links of
some sort with United States producers. Purchase agreements for foreign
military equipment frequently specified that production data and design
information, together with coproduction rights, be accorded to Israel.
Nevertheless, American firms often were reluctant to supply advanced technology
because of fears that Israel would adapt the technology for use in items
to be exported to third countries on an unrestricted basis. Some American
firms also feared that collaboration would encourage Israeli competition
in already saturated world markets.
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