Israel Wants Peace with Arab States, But Not Arab Power

Israel’s emerging security doctrine exposes a troubling contradiction: it wants Arab states as diplomatic partners but appears increasingly unwilling to accept them as independent centres of regional power.

A New Doctrine of Regional Dominance

The distinction is important. INSS is an independent think tank, not a government agency, and Hayman explicitly describes his reconstruction of the emerging doctrine as subjective. Yet, he argues that its principles already guide Israeli security decisions. His analysis is therefore not an official declaration of policy, but an informed interpretation of the strategic assumptions increasingly shaping Israeli conduct.

Among the ten principles Hayman identifies, one stands out for its regional implications: the rejection of the independent existence of Arab states. According to his interpretation, the emerging doctrine regards many Arab countries as artificial political constructions, held together by fragile arrangements among competing ethnic and tribal communities. Their fragmentation is consequently not necessarily viewed as a danger. Rather, weakening their cohesion may serve Israeli security interests because fragmented neighbors are easier to manage than powerful, unified states.

This proposition represents something more ambitious than conventional military deterrence. Deterrence seeks to prevent adversaries from attacking. Military superiority seeks to ensure that adversaries cannot prevail. But a strategy that regards neighbouring states’ institutional weakness as advantageous moves beyond both: it makes the regional distribution of political power itself an object of security policy. It means, Israel will also take steps that keep Arab states perpetually in a state of fragmentation.

Hayman identifies other principles that reinforce this interpretation. Peace becomes an instrument rather than a strategic objective. Preventive warfare takes precedence over defensive restraint. Forward military deployments become permanent features of security planning. War itself risks........

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