The Second Israel–Lebanon War (2006) and Israel’s National Security Strategy

The predicament that Israel finds itself in with regard to its security is the topic of this study. This security predicament is believed to have begun after the establishment of Israel in 1948, and it is believed to have become increasingly acute after the Second Israel-Lebanon War (2006), which involved Israel and Hezbollah. As a result of this circumstance, Israel is strengthening its national security policy in order to deal with challenges emanating not only from the Middle East region but also from the North and South of its border. This research will attempt to answer the following questions: (i) how far Israel is a cause in the Second Israel-Lebanon War (2006); (ii) how far the Second Israel-Lebanon War tested Israel’s military power (iii) how far the Second Israel-Lebanon War implicates Israel’s National Security strategy in the Middle East. This research makes use of qualitative approaches, such as research in libraries and content analysis of official government correspondence, speech texts, and reporting from the mass media, among other sources. To explore war and the various conflicts that can develop, as well as the actions of the various individuals involved, this research makes use of the offensive realism approach as a theory. According to the findings of this study, Israel's precarious security situation is a direct outcome of its geographical location, which makes it vulnerable for threat from both the north and the south of its border as well as throughout the Middle East. This has repercussions for Israel's national security strategy, and consequently Israel increasing its military power to enhance its national security in the Middle East.

Kajian ini berkaitan dengan dilema keselamatan yang dihadapi oleh Israel. Dilema keselamatan ini dilihat bermula setelah kewujudan Israel pada tahun 1948 dan dilihat semakin tegang sejak Perang Kedua Israel - Lebanon (2006) yang melibatkan Israel dan Hezbollah. Keadaan ini menyebabkan Israel semakin meningkatkan polisi keselamatan Negaranya bagi menangani ancaman dari arah Utara dan Selatan sempadannya dan juga di wilayah Timur Tengah. Terdapat tiga objektif yang ditetapkan untuk kajian ini iaitu (i) mengkaji sejauh manakah Israel menjadi punca terhadap Perang Kedua Israel - Lebanon (2006) (ii) sejauh manakah Perang Kedua Israel - Lebanon (2006) menguji kekuatan tentera Israel, dan (iii) sejauh manakah Perang Kedua Israel - Lebanon memberi kesan terhadap strategi keselamatan negara Israel di Timur Tengah. Kajian ini menggunakan kaedah kualitatif berdasarkan penyelidikan perpustakaan dan juga analisis kandungan surat rasmi kerajaan, teks ucapan, laporan media massa dan lain-lain. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan Offensive Realisme sebagai teori untuk membincangkan perang dan konflik yang timbul serta tingkah laku pelaku yang terlibat. Hasil kajian ini mendapati bahawa dilema keselamatan yang dialami Israel adalah kerana kedudukannya yang mana ancaman dari utara dan selatan sempadannya serta di wilayah Timur Tengah. Ini memberi kesan terhadap keselamatan negara Israel dan dapat dilihat bagaimana Israel semakin menguatkan strategi keselamatan negaranya.