Evolution of the Israeli Intelligence Community

Abstract

The countries of the Middle East are a complex world with specific rules. The Arab–Israeli conflict was present all throughout the history of the 20th century, developing into open armed conflict on many occasions. The constant change of the complex security situation posed unexpected challenges for the intelligence services since the foundation of the State of Israel. The study outlines the evolution of the organisations of the Israeli intelligence community in the light of the constantly changing threats. The study focuses on the post-1990 period, because the status quo that defines today’s Israeli intelligence community was formed at this time. Terrorism has been the most significant global security challenge in recent decades, therefore the study examines in detail the organisation of Shin Bet, the internal security service of Israel, and reviews the challenges and the responses to these.