Strategic Anarchy: Israel Doesn't Need to Defend Every Hill | Gershon Baskin

Gershon Baskin argues that Israel suffers from strategic anarchy: creating too many settlement points in the West Bank, including over 200 outposts and over 100 isolated farms, which burden the IDF and weaken national security. He calls on the next government to halt settlement, evacuate outposts and farms, and work toward political separation from the Palestinians, instead of deepening military control.

Dr. Gershon Baskin argues in an opinion piece in Maariv that Israel's central security problem is not a shortage of soldiers, but the creation of too many security tasks. He notes that in the West Bank there are over 200 outposts and over 100 isolated agricultural and herding farms, each requiring security, patrols, and available forces. Baskin contends that this burden falls on the IDF, reserve soldiers, and the entire economy, and that it weakens Israel's security rather than strengthening it. He claims that isolated settlements do not contribute to security but stretch the military and increase friction with Palestinians. Additionally, he warns that continued settlement erodes Israel's international legitimacy, especially among young Americans and Europeans. Baskin calls on the next government to change direction: stop establishing new outposts, evacuate isolated settlements and farms outside settlement blocs, and work toward political separation from the Palestinians. He criticizes the Netanyahu-Smotrich-Ben Gvir government for expanding settlements and preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state, and warns of ethnic cleansing. He concludes that Israel needs a strong army, but not an army that defends every hill, and that defending every hill is a political choice that the next government should change.