The
Israeli National Security Council (
HaMo'atzah leBitachon leOmi) is a council established by
the
Prime Minister's Office
in 1999 during the prime ministership of
Binyamin Netanyahu in the framework of
drawing lessons from the
Yom Kippur
War. The Council draws its authority from the
government and operates according to
guidelines from the Prime Minister.
The National Security Council (NSC) was established in March 1999
following Government Resolution 4889, and serves as the central
body responsible for coordination, integration, analysis and
monitoring in the field of national security.
The National Security Council is not the supreme national security
body for Israel, and national security decisions typically taken up
by
National Security
Councils in other countries are handled by the
Security Cabinet.
Background
The National Security Council (NSC) is the Prime Minister's and the
Government's staff forum in the field of national security,
deriving its authority from the Government and operating in
accordance with directives issued by the Prime Minister. The office
of the head of the National Security Council and the staff of the
Foreign Policy Division, the Security Division and the Legal
Advisor have been located since the end of December 2006 in the
Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem. The remaining staff of the
National Security Council and the Counter-Terrorism Bureau
headquarters are based at the National Security Council facility in
Ramat Hasharon.
Basis for the National Security Council's Operations
Article 7 of the Government Law of 2001 states that "the Government
will have an staff, established by the Prime Minister, to provide
professional consulting in the fields of national security; the
Prime Minister is authorized to entrust the staff with additional
consulting fields."Government Resolution 4889, dated March 7 1999,
established the National Security Council. The Government
resolution specified, among others, that:- The objective of the NSC
is to serve as a centralized advisory body to the Prime Minister
and the Government regarding issues of national security.- The NSC
derives its authority from the Government and operates in
accordance with directives issued by the Prime Minister.
Head of the National Security Council and National Security
Advisor
The National Security Council is part of the Prime Minister's
Office and reports to him directly about issues related to national
security. General (reserves) David Ivri was the first to be
appointed National Security Advisor and Head of the National
Security Council.
Currently,
the serving Head of the National Security Council and National
Security Advisor is Dr. Uzi Arad, formerly
the head of the Institute for Policy and
Strategy of the Interdisciplinary Center
Herzliya and Professor at its Lauder School of
Government, Diplomacy and Strategy. Dr. Arad served until
1997 as director of Research of the
Mossad.
NSC Roles
The roles of the National Security Council, as stipulated in the
Government Resolution, are as follows:
To hold senior council forums for the Prime Minister and the
Government regarding issues of national security.To coordinate
integrative assessments of processes and trends in all aspects of
national security.To direct integrative staff operations between
offices and authorities dealing with national security in order to
increase coordination and integration between them.To prepare for
deliberations by the government, ministerial committee for national
security and the Prime Minister.To advise the government on
policies relating to national security.To plan, based on a
long-term perspective, national security components, with the
assistance of existing planning bodies in State offices and
organizations dealing with national security.To follow up and
provide updates regarding activities and implementation of
resolutions related to national security.To maintain coordination
and cooperation with parallel national security authorities in
selected countries.
Among the Council's functions are: strategic advisement to the
Prime Minister, offering security recommendations to the
government, joint direction and coordinations of the
security arms as well as inspection
and supervision of decision-making related to the security bodies.
Other functions include long-term planning of security approaches,
and maintaining cooperative and coordinative relations with the
national security elements of selected countries.
The Council comprises three different wings: Security Policy,
Foreign Policy, and the Counter-Terrorism Bureau. It has two
advisors: legal and economic.
The Council's work is considered secret, and is undertaken outside
the public's eye. Its authority is vague and the Prime Minister is
not obligated to accept its recommendations, unlike with those of
the
Attorney General, for example.
In the case where the Prime Minister lacks confidence in the
Council head, this will result in the latter's resignation, since
it is considered a trust-based position. The first three Council
heads did not serve their full terms, which attests to the
problematic nature of the position.
Among the
issues which the Council engaged were the planning of the West Bank barrier and supervision
over its implementation, helping to forge the Gaza disengagement
plan as well as the agreement with Egypt
over the
Philadelphi Route.
Council heads
The Foreign Policy Wing
The National Security Council’s Foreign Policy Division is in
charge of planning, integration and coordination of policy on major
issues of national security.
The Division's roles:
- Formulation of political situation assessments.
- Formulation of recommendations for Israeli policies.
- Conducting strategic dialogs with National Security Councils of
leading countries.
Major Areas of Activity
Formulation of alternatives for Israeli policy with regard to the
political process and to relationships with Middle East countries.
- Israeli policy with regard to the Palestinians
- Israeli policy with regard to Lebanon
- Israeli policy with regard to Syria
- Israeli policy with regard Egypt, Jordan and other
countries.
Formulation of alternatives for Israeli policy with regard to the
super powers: the United States, Russia, European Union, China and
India.Formulation of alternatives for Israeli policy with regard to
the key countries: Turkey and India and Israeli policy with regards
to major international organizations such as the UN, NATO and
OEC.
Energy Security: a new area of activity relating to energy issues
based on a comprehensive national security perspective that
includes:
- Energy providers
- Strategic reserves
- Source combination
External links
Wikis
Map
Search
