Executive Summary
By: Danny Brodsky, expert on social struggles, radicalization processes and political violence
The current security policy of the State of Israel relies mainly on the use of military or police force, without the use of other means as well. This approach failed to create deterrence and even contributed to strengthening terrorist elements. The precedents show that military measures, alone, usually do not succeed in defeating terrorist organizations, so it is reasonable to assume that the current policy of the State of Israel will not succeed in bringing security. The only other proposal on the table is a return to negotiations on a two-state solution together with the Palestinian Authority, a solution that alone may not end the violence and bring security.
There is a need for a new security approach that combines the wealth of knowledge and tools acquired from the experience of dealing with terrorism and political violence, in Israel and abroad. The approach in this document advocates the orchestration of different tools to create security rather than a single tool solution, and it is designed to give policymakers flexibility in terms of which long-term solution to the conflict they want to implement.
Negotiation is an essential element when trying to marginalize and weaken a violent group, and it must be used whenever possible and at every level of decision-making, in order to create norms and a culture of achieving goals through consensus and dialogue.
In order to damage the ability of terrorist organizations to recruit people, there are two main areas to focus on: the State of Israel needs to bypass the social assistance mechanisms of violent groups, and find a way to allow Palestinians the ability to have influence within some political system - whether within a separate Palestinian political system or within Israel. Once the Palestinians have a mechanism through which they can make their voices heard, and realize political ambitions in non-violent ways, violence will become unnecessary and less attractive.
The State of Israel should stop criminalizing, prohibiting and punishing non-violent Palestinian struggle. The State of Israel should also encourage non-violent struggle directly by providing non-violent organizations with the opportunity to meet. exchange and organize ideas without being swallowed up by them, as well as by opening channels for negotiations with non-violent actors, with the aim being that concessions and flexibility be made with them, if possible , to signal to the Palestinian population that non-violent struggle is a more effective means of struggle than violence.
Terrorists will be given the opportunity to publicly call for an end to the violence and to leave the terrorist organizations, in exchange for a reduction in the length of their imprisonment or, in the case of minor offenses - a full amnesty, including protection by Israel for those who chose this path. Assassinations should be avoided as much as possible, since research on the Israeli experience shows that this was not an effective tool and even strengthened the terrorist organizations, and in general imprisonment proved to be a more effective method.
Ending the violence perpetrated by extremist Israelis against Palestinians in the West Bank is an important matter in order to prevent the cycle of violence from expanding, and it will require: encouraging and motivating the security forces to protect Palestinians, punishing members of the security forces who stand by when violence occurs, the prosecution of perpetrators of extreme violence, and the intervention of welfare officials for at-risk youth in the settlements, as they make up a significant part of the No'ar Gvaot who carry out the violence.