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Meir Ben Shabbat

Meir Ben Shabbat is head of the Misgav Institute for Zionist Strategy & National Security, in Jerusalem. He served as Israel’s national security advisor and head of the National Security Council between 2017 and 2021. Prior to that, for 25 years he held senior positions in the Israel Security Agency (Shabak).

Israel’s handling of trapped Rafah terrorists will signal to regional powers whether it remains committed to dismantling terror infrastructure or accepts cosmetic fixes.
We must set a clear goal for our security forces: to stop and disrupt the terrorists’ buildup, making it a major objective for the “campaign between the wars.”
The strike on PIJ terrorists in Gaza bolstered Israeli deterrence and showed that Israel’s domestic strife won’t impact its national security.
Israel should discuss with the U.S. a series of immediate measures in response to recent developments in the Gulf.
The West needs to assume that the Iranian regime’s current misdeeds will pale into insignificance compared to what it will allow itself to do.
The ICC will find it hard to ignore an advisory by the ICJ that says Israel’s “occupation” is illegal, but Israel can exact a price for the Palestinian efforts.
Iran’s involvement in Ukraine provides the U.S. president with an opportunity to tackle three of his most immediate challenges.
It is essential that we bolster and expand normalization, while preventing Iran from sabotaging it.
Although Israel launched this operation without a choice, it can turn it into an opportunity to bolster deterrence and alter the equation in Gaza.